European break for Salzburg

By Thomas Zeh

Ahead of a big European tie, everything must be settled. Which was bad news for Lars Söndergaard, whose reign as SV Austria Salzburg coach was ended on Wednesday, eight days before the first leg of their UEFA Cup second-round meeting with Parma AC in Linz.

Miserable run
Salzburg may have eliminated another Serie A side, Udinese Calcio, in the first round, but the Danish coach was always unlikely to survive a run that took his team to the bottom of the Austrian Bundesliga. Club president Rudi Quehenberger had warned on Monday that better form was needed, but when VfB Admira Wacker Mödling gained a 2-1 win at Salzburg two nights later, Söndergaard's fifth straight defeat in charge was to be his last.

'Had to intervene'
Quehenberger said he had high regard for Söndergaard, but added: "I had to intervene after such a poor performance and I simply can not sack 22 players." Director of sport Peter Assion is in temporary charge, and Söndergaard, who replaced compatriot Hans Backe in September 2001, was philosophical about the turn of events.

Previous successes
"I was given a fair chance to keep my job, but I could not take it," the 44-year-old said. "Now I need to get away from all and have a break before making up my mind about the future." Still, he can leave knowing his saved the club from relegation in 2001/02, and last season overcame a poor start to finish third and qualify for the UEFA Cup.

Optimism shattered
This term began with optimism at the recently opened Wals-Siezenheim stadium - a venue for EURO 2008 - but six opening defeats extinguished that good feeling. The signing of 37-year-old former German international Thomas Hässler improved matters, as champions FK Austria Wien were held to a 0-0 draw on his debut, and three wins followed. However, the FIFA World Cup winner was then sidelined with muscular problems, and Salzburg's domestic form dipped again.

'Happy ending'
Hässler returned to score in the 2-1 win at Udinese that took Salzburg through on away goals. That victory in Italy - which seemed unlikely as Salzburg had lost the first leg 1-0 and trailed by a single goal halfway through the return - saw Söndergaard's team hailed in the Austrian press. "Salzburg secure a happy ending for Austrian football," declared Der Kurier newspaper. Neue Kronen Zeitung said: "Following their home defeat they needed a miracle and indeed, the miracle occurred."

'Fear the worst'
But the good feeling lasted only until a 2-0 home defeat against SV Pasching the next weekend. "The heroes in Udinese were brought back down to earth and their performance makes us fear the worst for the coming weeks. In this form Salzburg are prime contenders for relegation," wrote local paper Salzburger Nachrichten.

Assion's task
Two further domestic defeats finally sealed Söndergaard's fate as not even Hässler proved able to inspire a nervous side. Assion must now reverse that trend against SK Sturm Graz on Sunday, ahead of the first meeting with Parma next Thursday, as Salzburg seek to repeat their run to the 1993/94 final, where they lost to Internazionale FC.

Polster hope
Former Austrian international striker Toni Polster, who ended his successful career at Salzburg, told uefa.com that his former club can bounce back. "Parma are obviously the favourites, but you never know and maybe another surprise is on the cards," he said. "Salzburg have proved in the past that they are at their best against European opponents."