SALZBURG, Austria, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Austrian football club Red Bull Salzburg is sticking to a long-term, balanced youth development strategy as it looks to sustain success on and off the pitch, according to the sporting director of its academy.
"The academy's philosophy is based on the 'today-for-tomorrow' principle and a clear developmental approach," Bernhard Seonbuchner told Xinhua in Salzburg.
Austria finished runner-up at the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar, with nine players from the Red Bull Academy forming part of the Austria squad, highlighting the academy's influence on the national setup.
"Generally, the path for a young player in Austria almost always goes through one of the football academies," said Seonbuchner, who is responsible for the sporting direction and strategic development at the Red Bull Academy.
"We find our talents through a scouting network and ongoing observations up to the U14 age group. There are various screenings to better assess a player's current status, development potential and expected learning curve."
Built in 2014, the Red Bull Academy is located on the outskirts of Salzburg, and integrates technical training, tactical guidance, physical training and other areas. The academy currently has seven football fields comprising artificial grass, natural grass and indoor fields.
"From a footballing perspective, we play a ball-oriented forward defense and quick transition play with a direct path to goal. Counter-pressing is non-negotiable," Seonbuchner said.
"The youngest players in our academy are six years old and can play with us up to U16, developing within our philosophy always provided they are good enough and have the necessary potential. This is followed by U18 and then FC Liefering," Seonbuchner said.
FC Liefering plays in Austria's second tier and is Red Bull Salzburg's feeder club. Established figures like Sadio Mane, Erling Haaland, Dominik Szoboszlai and Karim Adeyemi all joined top European clubs after first breaking through at Salzburg.
FC Liefering focuses almost exclusively on talent development and its squad has average age of just 18.5 years. This level is extremely important for preparing for adult football and is the starting point for a possible professional career, Seonbuchner noted.
However, not everyone can become a professional player. With regard to this matter, Red Bull Academy has a philosophy of "51 percent education and 49 percent sport", placing high importance on education to allow players opportunities away from professional football.
"Everything is coordinated to connect both areas as well as possible. The schedules of our two partner schools are designed to allow enough time for training sessions. Conversely, when players travel for football, there is learning support and learning packages," Seonbuchner said.
At one of the partner schools, students not only learn general subjects like English, history and geography, but also gain exposure to areas such as sports management and business operations. This is aimed at allowing them to apply to related university programs based on their knowledge gained at the school.
Seonbuchner said the academy also offers workshops for "life after football", an Austrian non-profit organization that aims to provide athletes with services such as educational planning and career counseling. It has already provided employment support to over 3,000 athletes.
"We always prepare the players for their future on multiple tracks, both within and outside professional sports," Seonbuchner said. ■
