Matthias Jaissle will arrive at Sunderland with another league title under his belt if he replaces Tony Mowbray on Wearside after Red Bull Salzburg got their mitts on the Austrian Bundesliga trophy yet again last weekend.
It’s not just on the pitch where Red Bull Salzburg are renowned for unearthing diamonds in the rough. Roger Schmidt, Adi Hutter and Marco Rose all went onto bigger and, with all due respect, better things since making their name in the dugout at the perennial Austrian champions.
And while Matthias Jaissle only turned 35 last month, he already has a pair of Bundesliga winners’ medals hanging around his neck, Salzburg ensuring that they can no longer be caught at the top of the table thanks to a 2-1 win over Sturm Graz on Sunday.
Tony Mowbray out, Matthias Jaissle in at Sunderland?
Now, reports suggesting that Sunderland could move on from Mowbray – despite the veteran tactician’s remarkable impact since replacing Alex Neil less than a year ago – has certainly divided the Black Cats fanbase.
TalkSPORT believe that Jaissle and former Alanyaspor coach Francesco Farioli are both candidates to take Mowbray’s place on the bench. A pair of ambitious, 30-something purists who pride themselves upon an attractive, modern, possession-heavy style.
Farioli has made no secret about his interest in a move to the UK. He held talks with Rangers late last year. But the chances of Jaissle taking over look slim; Salzburg director Christoph Freund insisting that his title-winning boss is going nowhere.
“It’s nice that our coaches are being talked about,” Freund tells Kicker. “Matthias is a good young coach. He still has a contract with us and he will still be our coach next season.”
“With Matthias, we have the youngest coach who has now won two titles in a row. He’s definitely a coach who is in great demand on the international market. There are not many young coaches who have such potential and have already achieved a lot.
“The plan is that we go into the new season with him.”
Mowbray guided Sunderland to a play-off spot this season. Though any hopes of successive promotions went up in smoke as the Black Cats lost 2-0 to a streetwise and disciplined Luton Town in the semi-final second-leg.
Luton will now face Coventry in the play-off final at Wembley in June.
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