Karim Konate, Lukas Wallner, Tolgahan Sahin, Zeteny Jano and Raphael Hofer – five Liefering boys had the opportunity to impress on our short training camp. Four of them have been at the Red Bull Academy since U15 level and had the chance in Malta to sample the life of a football pro for the first time. You can read here all about the quintet and how they got on in the training camp.
Karim Konate | 18 years old, striker
It was with great fanfare that Karim Konate moved this summer to Salzburg and is currently getting to know our way of playing the game at FC Liefering and the Red Bull Academy. With 12 goal involvements so far in the ADMIRAL 2. Liga and another seven in the UEFA Youth League, the Ivorian has enjoyed a truly impressive start and provided glimpses of his immense attacking potential.
The striker made his first appearance for Matthias Jaissle's side in Malta. In a friendly match against Inter Milan, Konate was the only player alongside Maurits Kjaergaard uad Bernardo who played the full 90 minutes. In the second half our boys managed to go on the attack, but the 18-year-old was unable to cap his first appearance with a goal.
The players and the staff have welcomed us youngster really well. I would like to thank them all for the work they do and the faith they have in us young players. The match against Inter was a tough one for us. They are a famous and experienced team, and you could see that on Wednesday.
I have integrated into the club really well during the first half of the season thanks to the work of all the backroom staff, and I had the fortune of having my good friend Oumar Diakite with me from the start. He has really helped me to find my way in Salzburg.
Lukas Wallner | 19 years old, defender
It was around a year ago when Lukas Wallner signed his first professional contract with us, and in the meantime managed to captain our Young Bulls to the final of the UEFA Youth League, no less. The local lad had his first taste of action for Matthias Jaissle's first team during the preparation period last winter. The 19-year-old centre back has made our Austrian Bundesliga squad once so far this season, against SCR Altach, while Wallner replaced Maximilian Wöber at the back in the 75th minute of the friendly encounter with Inter.
It was definitely a special trip. I was able to get some cool experiences, and definitely learned a lot here. Inter were a really top team. You could see how much experience they have and are technically almost flawless.
Tolgahan Sahin | 18 years old, midfielder
UEFA Youth League fans could not help becoming aware of Tolgahan Sahin after his sensational free-kick strike v Dinamo Zagreb. The young Austrian, who has been at the Red Bull Academy since 2018, has become a regular for our young side, starting in every match in the Youth League group stage.
It was really awesome to be there! I can take a lot from the quality of the training alone. The match was something really special. It was an incredible experience for me to play against such a good team. I met one of my big childhood idols in Hakan Calhanoglu. We spoke a little after the match, and I was surprised what an incredibly nice guy he is, and it was such a delight to meet him.
Zeteny Jano | 17 years old, midfielder
At the age of 17, Zeteny Jano was the youngest player in our squad in Malta and had his first chance to mix with our pros on the island. The Austrian U18 international has long been on the radar of those keeping tabs on Europe's brightest young talents. The Guardian recently named the attacking midfielder in their prestigious Next Generation list of the 60 biggest footballing talents born in 2005.
The coach gave me a quick call beforehand and told me I would be coming. This kind of chance means so much to me, and I hope I was able to leave a good first impression. It was a special feeling too to be the youngest in the team.
Raphael Hofer | 19 years old, midfielder
Few would have expected Raphael Hofer to be a part of the training camp - with he himself also surprised at his inclusion. Just like Zeteny Jano and Tolgahan Sahin, the 19-year-old came on in the 65th minute against Inter and almost managed to score a consolation goal for us in the final stages.
It was a fantastic experience for me, of course, to play with the pros for the first time, and play a friendly match against such cool opponents. There were players there who you are used to seeing on the TV and being on the same pitch as them is something that you can learn so much from as a young player. I hadn't expected at all to be part of the training camp, and I only found out a day or two before that I would be going.
