Stejskal and Salzburg won the final of the Junior Champions League. How does the young goalkeeper evaluate his engagement in Austria and what awaits him?

Adam Stejskal is a 20-year-old goalie. He has been playing for Red Bull Salzburg since he was 16 years old. Last season he was the key player of the U19 team that reached the final of the Youth Champions League. In an interview with Ruik, he talked about his future or how things work at the dominant Austrian club.

From Brno to Salzburg at 16

Adam Stejskal grew up playing football in Brno’s Zbrojovka. However, he moved abroad at the age of 16. Specifically to Salzburg, Austria. “We discussed it with my parents and manager for a long time, because it’s a big jump at 16. But the decision was quite quick and clear,” the promising goalkeeper told Ruik.

“It was a huge difference. In terms of facilities and life around it. I lived in the academy for two years, so I practically did everything there. I ate there, I slept there, I had school there, training there. The only time I left was when I wanted to go out with the guys or go home once every few weeks. So there was a huge difference. Also the way the football is taken here and the competitive environment. It was a big jump.”

The Brno native was studying at a sports high school in Brno at the time of the transfer. After moving to Austria, he transferred to a grammar school in Prague, where he had to study at a distance: “ I only had to commute to Prague for exams, otherwise I studied in Salzburg with a tutor supervising us to see that we were really dedicated.”

“It’s 3 and a half hours by car, 4 and a half hours by train. If I played in Pilsen or Teplice, it would be the same. Compared to guys from England or Spain, I’m much better off in this respect.”

And as for life? “I think Austria is similar to the Czech Republic. Only the attitude of the people here is a bit more positive. In terms of services or facilities, it’s very similar. It wasn’t an extreme jump,” he is clear.

Junior Champions League final and gaining experience in Liefering

Adam Stejskal has had a very interesting season in which he has been quite busy. Firstly, he played for Liefering, Red Bull Salzburg’s second league co-op club, but in addition to that he played for Salzburg in the Youth Champions League.

“Liefering is a co-op team of Red Bull Salzburg, so it’s two separate clubs, but that team had practically the same players as Salzburg’s nineteen. So with most of the guys and the same implementation team, we played together. So it wasn’t complicated in that respect. In terms of workload, I’m glad I played so much. It was a big plus for my growth,” he says.

The journey through the Champions League was not easy for the Red Bull junior. She had to face Sevilla, Wolfsburg and Lille in the group stage. “In the group, we were quite eager to qualify, so the goals were not extra high,” Stejskal admitted.

However, in the knockout stage Salzburg took on Zilina, PSG and Atlético Madrid, who they outclassed 5-0 in the semi-finals. “When we reached the last four, the goal was clear. To try to win. The semi-final was extremely good, the style of the opponent suited us, so it ended up being clear-cut,” he described the journey to the final of the competition.

Red Bull Salzburg crashed out in the final. They lost 0:6 to Benfica. “What can I say? We crashed and deservedly lost. Maybe it was a bigger loss than it realistically should have been. It was devastating. We subjected Liefering’s games to that a lot. At times the players were saving themselves in the second league to be ready for the LM, so it was a big disappointment. But when we look at it overall, we can be supremely satisfied that we made it to the final,” he added.

Stejskal also pointed out that second league adult football is simply different than junior Champions League football: ” The second league is very strong and tactical. There are not many goals there. But in the LM it was open matches and the way the younger players play there, the mentality plays a big role. As it happens in youth football that one is extremely good and in the other one some mistake happens at the beginning and it puts the team down, that’s what happened to us and unfortunately that’s what happened in that final.”

What now? We are looking for the ideal solution, says Stejskal

Adam Stejskal is currently dealing with his future. He has a contract in Salzburg until the summer of 2024, but he will no longer have a place in Liefering and there is a lot of competition in the A-team.

“There is an unwritten rule that every player who comes to Liefering at the age of 18 should stay there for two years. For me, that’s been the case for the last two years, so I won’t be playing for Liefering almost 100% anymore. In the summer, I normally started training with the A team. Unfortunately, I tore a ligament in my ankle in the second week, so I had to take two weeks off and now it’s being sorted out,” said the Red Bull Salzburg goalkeeper.

“The transfer window is open until the end of August. We’ll see if there is a guest appearance that makes sense for me to develop. If nothing can be found, I would stay with the first team until the winter and hope that maybe there will be an opportunity to play in the cup,” he added.

Adam notes that he is ready for both options, but prefers to go on loan to get match practice. According to him, a return to the Czech Republic is unlikely. Only because the competitions are played out.

“It’s important to find a club where I can play a big part of the games and that the league is a step higher than I was in Liefering. It’s hard to find something. Both the club and Sport Invest are trying to find something that gives head and heel. They are looking for an ideal solution that will meet the requirements of both the club and Sport Invest,” Stejskal revealed.

The competition is excellent for our development, he is clear

Red Bull Salzburg is renowned for its scouting and a system that gets the best out of young players. “The competition is huge here, which I think is great for our development. The training is of great quality and intensity. There is a lot of training and it’s very high quality and the emphasis is on all players to give 100%.”

Stejskal acknowledges that it is mentally demanding somewhere. Especially when someone else gets a chance. “But I think that’s part of football development. I think everybody that’s here is at peace with it and happy for it. It will help them a lot in the future,” he said.

Austrian league? They say it’s similar to the Czech one

Red Bull Salzburg has dominated the Austrian league for the last few years. In addition, it is also gaining recognition on the international stage. It is also the reason why the Austrian league is in a great eighth place in the coefficient rankings.

According to Stejskal, the Czech competition does not differ much from the Austrian one: “Only in Austria there is the advantage that there are only twelve teams and five of them play preliminary rounds. We are right in the Champions League group this year. The fact that a lot of teams are playing European games helps the whole competition.”

He feels the same way about the visitors: ” We, Rapid Vienna, Austria Vienna and Graz get good visitors. As far as the middle and bottom of the table is concerned, it’s similar to the Czech Republic. It’s hard to compare, though, because I’ve never played professional football there. And for the last two years, when I played in the second league, not many people come to Liefering and B’s games. It’s more like scouts and family. As far as the second league teams are concerned, there are three or four clubs that have a decent fan base and three or four thousand people come to the game.”

They all want to dethrone us somehow

Adam Stejskal also commented on how Salzburg are perceived by the Austrian fans. For example, Leipzig, which like the Austrian team is owned by the Red Bull concern, faces constant hate speech in Germany.

” I think it’s much more extreme in Leipzig than here. Salzburg has a long history, the club has just changed its name. There is no hatred against us. It’s a classic rivalry. It’s like when teams in the Czech Republic want to take on Sparta or Slavia.”

Compared to Leipzig, Salzburg has become the hegemon of its competition. “Salzburg are nine times champions in a row, so everyone is trying to unseat them. But it’s not like in Greece or somewhere in the Balkans, where they would throw rocks at us or something. We are the best in Austria in recent years and everyone is trying to dethrone us,” the talented goalkeeper is clear.

The games against Rapid, Austria or Sturm are more spicy, he says, where the atmosphere is great against Salzburg. “But it’s nothing special,” he concluded his narrative.

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