First visit to Austria since 1993

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)

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).