RB Leipzig will be in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in its history on Tuesday. How a commercial project has grown into a semi-finalist in the ball of millions over the past decade. “There are people from the outside who hate RB Leipzig, but it will always be.”
In 2009 Red Bull took over the football license from SSV Markranstädt, which was active at the fifth level of Germany. With a plan to storm the German football pyramid as soon as possible, the company poured a lot of money into the project, which from then on would be called RasenBallsport Leipzig.
That name – literally translated ‘grass ball sport’ – is actually a non-existent word in the German language. The words were chosen purely to create the abbreviation RB, as it is not allowed in Germany to use a sponsor name in the club name.
Raphael Honigstein, Bundesliga watcher and, among other things, employed by the English sports medium The Athletic, saw the rise of RB Leipzig up close. “RB Leipzig was founded in an area where there was no Bundesliga football at the time. It actually started as a marketing project. Founded purely to promote the Red Bull brand.”
In a country where little has changed in the field of football over the past fifty years, the rise of RB Leipzig and the involvement of Red Bull scared fans of other teams. “Some other supporter groups hate RB Leipzig. But there are also people who don’t care much and who ‘just’ want to see beautiful football. Then Leipzig is the right place for you,” said Honigstein.
Guido Schäfer, head of the Leipziger Volkszeitung, sees that the club in Leipzig itself is extremely popular. “There are some outside people who hate RB Leipzig, but it will always be. Everyone is a fan of the team here. They are really very proud of the way the club has developed.”
Leipzig grew rapidly into a top German club. Seven years after its founding, the formation already played in the Bundesliga. The eleven-year-old club has now nestled between top clubs such as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. This year the club competed for the German league title for a long time.
‘Nagelsmann has added a new element to the game’
RB Leipzig is particularly striking with attractive and attacking football, with many young players impressing every week. It has slightly changed sentiment in Germany, Schäfer notes. “RB Leipzig’s offensive play is greatly appreciated. And not only by the fans, but also by the important journalists and great German coaches.”
Honigstein also sees a change in the way RB Leipzig is viewed. “I don’t think attacking football has made the club more popular, but the team is loved. It’s easy to look at this team and like the football.”
Under the previous managers, Ralph Hasenhütl and Ralf Rangnick, RB Leipzig was already known for its attractive football. Last summer, Julian Nagelsmann was hired and with the tactician at the helm, Leipzig has added a new element to the game.
“The way of playing football has developed under Nagelsmann”, Schäfer sees. “It’s a style where they have the ball, make combinations and the focus is on patient attack.”
It makes the German trainer immensely popular in Germany. “Nagelsmann is the most talented trainer in the world. He is 33 and started his career when he was 28 or 29. He has a lot of self-confidence, but he lives up to that. That’s why he is very popular,” says Schäfer.
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Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann on Borussia Dortmund-Hoffenheim. (Photo: Getty Images)
‘Tuchel has taken Nagelsmann under his wing’
It is interesting that Thomas Tuchel’s Paris Saint-Germain is the opponent in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Nagelsmann and Tuchel know each other well from their time at FC Augsburg.
“Nagelsmann was always injured as a player for Augsburg,” says Honigstein. “Tuchel was head of youth training there at the time and helped Nagelsmann, who was twenty at the time, to become a trainer.”
Schäfer therefore anticipates a tactically exciting game. “If there is anyone who should know Nagelsmann, it is Tuchel. They have no secrets for each other. I think that ultimately comes down to penalties. And then a final against Bayern would be special, but let’s not be too harsh. underway. “
The semi-final between Paris Saint-Germain and Leipzig starts on Tuesday at 9 p.m. in Lisbon and is led by referee Björn Kuipers. The other match in the semi-final is between Bayern Munich and Olympique Lyon.
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