FC Barcelona face Red Bull Salzburg for the first time ever on Wednesday (7.00pm CEST, live on Barça TV+). And the team has been long due a visit to Austria, a country that it hasn’t visited, either for a competitive match or a friendly, for 28 years.

It was way back on 3 November 1993 that FC Barcelona played Austria Wien in the second leg of a Champions League qualifying match. Having already won 3-0 at Camp Nou they already had a foot and a half in the group stage and they confirmed passage with a 2-1 win (5-1 on aggregate) with two goals from Hristo Stoichkov (one of which was nominated for our Best Barça Goal Ever)

Robert Lewandowski presentation
The Polish striker is officially presented as a Barça player at Camp Nou

Barça have not returned to Austria since. In fact, there are only five UEFA member countries to which the team has taken longer to ‘repay’ a visit: Iceland (last visited in 1990), Andorra (1990), Albania (1987), Malta (1980) and Luxembourg (1979).

FC Barcelona's most recent visits to UEFA nations

Germany (31 July 2021 v VfB Stuttgart, friendly)
France (10 March 2021 v Paris St Germain, UCL)
Hungary (2 December 2020 v Ferencvàros, UCL)
Ukraine (24 November 2010 v Dynamo Kyiv, UCL)
Italy (28 October 2020 v Juventus, UCL)
Portugal (14 August 2020 v Bayern Munich, UCL)
Czech Republic (23 October 2019 v Slavia Prague, UCL)
England (7 May 2019 v Liverpool, UCL)
Netherlands (28 November 2018 v PSV Eindhoven, UCL)
Greece (31 October 2017 v Olympiacos, UCL)
Scotland (23 November 2016 v Celtic, UCL)
Republic of Ireland (30 July 2016 v Celtic, friendly)
Sweden (3 August 2016 v Leicester City, friendly)
Georgia (11 August 2015 v Sevilla, UEFA Super Cup)
Belarus (20 October 2015 v BATE Borisov, UCL)
Cyprus (25 November 2014 v APOEL, UCL)
Finland (9 August 2014 v HJK, friendly)
Switzerland (6 August 2014 v Napoli, friendly)
Poland (30 July 2013, v Lechia Gdansk, friendly)
Norway (27 July 2013 v Valerenga, friendly)
Russia (20 November 2012 v Spartak Moscow, UCL)
Romania (11 August 2012 v Dinamo Bucharest, friendly)
Croatia (23 July 2011 v Hajduk Split, friendly)
Denmark (2 November 2010 v Copenhagen, UCL)
Bulgaria (22 November 2006 v Levski Sofia, UCL)
Wales (14 August 2004 v Parma, friendly)
Slovakia (24 September 2003 v Matador Puchov, UEFA Cup)
Northern Ireland (12 August 2003 v Derry City, friendly)
Belgium (29 October 2002 v Club Brugge, UCL)
Turkey (24 September 2002 v Galatasaray, UCL)
Latvia (27 August 1997 v Skonto Riga, UCL)
Serbia (31 October 1996 v Red Star Belgrade, CWC)
Israel (12 September 1995 v Hapoel Be'er Sheva, UEFA Cup)
Austria (3 November 1993 v Austria Wien, UCL)
Iceland (23 October 1990 v Fram Reykjavík, CWC)
Andorra (2 June 1990 v Andorra, friendly)
Albania (9 December 1987 v Flamurtari, UEFA Cup)
Malta (16 September 1980 v Sliema Wanderers, UEFA Cup)
Luxembourg (23 October 1979 v Aris Bonnevoie, CVC)

* There are a further fifteen countries, all of which joined UEFA relatively recently, that Barça have NEVER visited (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, San Marino and Slovenia).

 

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