On the road with... Manchester City: No time for sightseeing in beautiful Salzburg as Roberto Mancini eyes European success

By Chris Wheeler
Last updated at 3:26 PM on 16th September 2010

Salzburg may be one of the most picturesque venues for any European fixture but Roberto Mancini and his Manchester City players are here to win a game of football, not go sightseeing.

That much is clear from City's itinerary for their first Europa League group tie against the Austrian champions.

Mancini opted to train at Carrington on Wednesday morning and put back an early flight to mid-afternoon, meaning his players only had a stroll around the 32,000-capacity Red Bull Arena where they will open their Group A campaign.

'It was how we used to do it with Lazio,' explained Italian. 'It is better this way.'

Taking in his surroundings: But Roberto Mancini and Manchester City won't be spending too long in Salzburg

Win or lose, City will board a flight back to Manchester 70 minutes after the final whistle blows, meaning Mancini and his men will have spent less than 30 hours in the picture postcard place made famous as a backdrop to The Sound of Music.

It is the kind of schedule you would expect clubs to arrange for a trip to Albania not Austria, but the demands of the Premier League and Sunday's trip to Wigan mean City cannot stay around admiring the scenery.

The stadium itself is an ugly grey venue close to the airport and 10 minutes from the border with Germany. It is at odds with its surroundings, not least because it is heavily branded by the club's sponsors.

When Dietrich Mateschitz, billionaire owner of the energy drinks giant Red Bull, took over the club five years ago he was was not shy in making changes.

Out went Salzburg's 72-year-old club crest, replaced by trademark red bulls, the name was changed from SV Austria Salzburg - even though UEFA do not allow them to go use the Red Bull moniker in European competition - and a team that traditionally played in violet began wearing red and white.

Picture postcard: Salzburg is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe

Dissident supporters revived SV in the seventh tier of Austrian football and the breakaway club has since been promoted to the third division, but they will never challenge Mateschitz's might.

Despite his considerable investment, Red Bull have struggled to make the step up to join Europe's elite however. They may have won the Austrian title three of the last four years, but once again failed to qualify for the Champions League this season, losing to Hapoel Tel Aviv in their final qualifier after beating HB Torshavn and AC Omonia.

Still, they won every Europa League group game home and away last season despite an unkind draw that put them up against Lazio, Villarreal and Levski Sofia, and will not be fazed by having to face City, Juventus and Lech Poznan.

Ugly: The stadium is close to the airport

It is a sign of the times that City have eclipsed Juve as the biggest attraction and Salzburg are expecting a sizeable increase on their average crowd of 14,000 for the game, with an extra 700 supporters expected to make the trip over from England.

You would not have known it judging by the quiet atmopshere in town on Wednesday night. The rowdiest it got was when a hen party interrupted our meal and asked if the bride-to-be could shine our shoes for five euros.

Apparently this is a tradition in Austria. Either that or she really is struggling to pay for the reception.

By the time she has stopped shining shoes and got hitched on Friday, City will be back in Manchester and looking forward to Wigan. No time to hang about, not even in Salzburg.