1997/98:

As champions the club was a big favourite for the coming season, even more so after the signing of Lithuanian Valdas Ivanauskas, a long-awaited centre forward. However, everything went wrong right from the start. The team lost the opening game of the season to newly-promoted Lustenau (0:2). Then things got even worse. Austria Salzburg failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Sparta Prague were too good. The home tie ended in a goalless draw and the away game turned out to be a disastrous 0:3 defeat. The away performance was a disgrace for Austrian football. In the following UEFA Cup campaign Anderlecht were also too strong. After a 4:3 home victory the team squandered a 2:0 lead in the away game in Brussels. (Final score a 4:2 defeat with 4 goals conceded in around 15 minutes). The defending of the championship was soon forgotten due to devastating away performances. The dream of a domestic cup win was shattered by Sturm Graz when the “Blackies” won 1:0 at Salzburg’s Lehen home. Coach Heribert Weber stepped down after the winter break and signed for Rapid Vienna. The legendary Hans Krankl was presented as the new coach. Despite a run of wins the club only finished fourth but still qualified for the UI Cup.
 

1998/99:

After another safe mid-table season the club finished once again in the fourth place. Edi Glieder scored 22 times and thus became Austria’s top scorer. Apart from that the club won an indoor football tournament organised by the Austrian FA. Cup dreams were ended by Rapid Vienna in the quarterfinals. Although the final in the UI Cup was reached, Spain’s Valencia proved too mighty an opponent. (0:2 and 1:2).
 

1999/00:

In 2000 Hans Krankl’s reign came to an end and he was followed by his assistant coach Miroslav Polak. The foundation of the Salzburg Sport AG, a private limited company, put the club on a new economical footing. Austria’s leading scorer Toni Polster was signed but ‘Two-pack Toni’ did not score that many goals. The club finished a disappointing sixth. The long hoped for cup victory was shattered by Graz AK. Despite thrashing them in the league 5:1 a few days before the final, Austria Salzburg lost 3:4 on penalties (2:2 after extra time).
 

2000/01:

New coach Hans Backe from Sweden made his mark on this season. The club aimed to reach a place between 4 and 7, ultimately coming 6th after 13 wins, 10 draws and 13 defeats. In the third round of the UI Cup Austria Salzburg were knocked out by Standard Liege. The domestic cup run once again ended in the quarterfinals – this time round against Admira Wacker (0:2).
 

2001/02:

Once again, the club’s coach name changed. Hans Backe left for Copenhagen and his assistant, Lars Söndergaard, took over. Söndergaard turned out to be a brilliant tactician, just like Backe. On another front former president Rudi Quehenberger returned to the club. Quehenberger and his partner Kluppenenger took 90% of the Salzburg Sport AG (see above) and displaced chairman Toni Pichler. After a fourth place in the autumn games, Salzburg dropped 2 places despite a 6:1 thrashing of Rapid Vienna. For the third time in a row the club finished 6th. This time the club made it to the semi-final which Graz AK won 2:0 after extra-time.
 

2002/03:

4 defeats in as many games at the beginning of the season, devastating 0:4 defeats against Austria Vienna (home) and Ried (away) and a 1:5 thrashing away to Bregenz brought relegation fears to Salzburg Lehen. A superb 5:2 victory over Ried accompanied by a gigantic flag – ‘Lehen in our hearts forever’ – covering the whole main stand, and a 2:1 victory against Sturm Graz were the last games at Salzburg’s traditional Lehen home. Helped by the new ground in Wals-Siezenheim the club managed to qualify for the UEFA Cup. With a new ground, a good team with young players and returning euphoria among the supporters, the future looked bright. The new euphoria soon gave way to internal unrest, which triggered the losses of several key figures.
 

2003/04:

In the 70th anniversary year of the club, German international and former world champion Thomas ‘Icke’ Hässler was signed, and Kahraman, Bilic, Kocak, Teber and Amoah also moved to Salzburg while Roland Kirchler left for Pasching due to the so-called ‘Sheikh-Affair’. UEFA Cup games had to be played at Linz’s Gugl due to the synthetic turf at the new Wals-Siezenheim ground. Austria Salzburg knocked out Italy’s Udinese in the first round thanks to an unexpected 2:1 away win (home tie 1:0 to Udinese). In the second round, Parma proved too good and Salzburg were thrashed 4:0 and 5:0 by the Italian side. Domestic prospects did not look bright at all as after 15 games the popular coach Söndergaard was sacked and replaced by the German Peter Assion. Walter Hörmann was then brought in as an interim solution, but soon Assion was in charge again. After a hard-fought relegation battle the club finally finished seventh. The best place of the season after 11 weeks at the bottom. Many players left the club at the end of the season, Roman Szweczyk, an iconic defender, being one of them. The club made it to the last sixteen in the cup but lost 0:4 to Carinthia.
 

2004/05:

Having finished the autumn games just 3 points above the bottom there were various new ‘emergency’ signings, however the team’s spring season wasn’t any better. A 5:0 humiliation by Rapid Vienna and an unexpected and devastating 5:1 defeat at division three-side St.Pölten were the lows of the season. Various managerial changes (Jurcevic, Assion, Linzmair) made life for the violet faithful pretty dire. Division 1 football was secured thanks to an incredibly weak Bregenz side and the Red Bull takeover could have triggered euphoria among supporters. Red Bull plans were unveiled and it dawned to supporters that their beloved club would no longer exist in the form they had followed it down the years. German legend and long serving captain Heiko Laessig hung up his boots at the end of the season and changed to the club’s youth section.