“Not everyone loves us at the moment. But that isn’t important. It’s more about respect,” says RB Leipzig managing director Ulrich Wolter.
The story of four-year-old franchise ‘RasenBallsport Leipzig’ – their name differing from other Red Bull owned clubs because Article 15 in the DFB’s regulations prevent a sponsor’s name in the club identity – is a divisive one.
Red Bull, already with club franchises in the USA and Austria, investigated the feasibility of taking control of a professional football club in Germany in 2006: with the aim of achieving Bundesliga football within a decade.
Saschen Leipzig – who were dissolved in 2011 after financial meltdown – and Fortuna Dusseldorf were identified as potential options. Red Bull attempted a controversial takeover of the former in 2006, but a combination of volatile fan protests and the influence of the DFB disrupted their ambitions.
By 2009, Red Bull chiefs agreed to take over the licence of fifth-tier SV Markranstädt, a club from the suburbs of Leipzig, migrating to the grandeur of the Red Bull Arena (not to be confused with its namesake in New York), which was constructed for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The stadium holds around 43,000 and the owners agreed a two-decade lease on the venue.
Leipzig’s place in German football is written in history. The German FA was established in 1900 and four years later, the first national champion was VfB Leipzig (now known as Lokomotive Leipzig), one of the strongest dissenting voices to Red Bull’s involvement in the city.
Yet Leizpig, the 12th biggest city in Germany (as of 2010), with a population of just over 500,000 – the same size as Bradford – has been a football hinterland for nearly two decades.
Lokomotive continued the legacy of VfB Leipzig’s title success in 1903 and held their own in European competition until 1989 – even reaching the European Cup Winners Cup final in 1987.
The reunification of Germany in 1990 was to the long-term detriment of many East German clubs. A small taste of the Bundesliga in 1993 lasted 12 months, marking Lokomotive’s gradual financial decline. The same pattern followed right across the East of the country, as most of the domineering former GDR clubs went to the wall.
The last Bundesliga club from the East of Germany was Energie Cottbus who were relegated in 2009. Even in 2.Bundesliga, there are only four East German clubs: Union Berlin, Dynamo Dresden, Cottbus and Erzgebirge Aue. That group is increased by another five in 3.Liga; Chemnitzer FC, Hallescher FC, Hansa Rostock, RB Leipzig – boasting two promotions in four years – and Rot-Weiss Erfurt.
Wolter points out that while animosity is directed towards the club for attempting to bring Bundesliga football to Leipzig within the next five years, other East German sides have wasted opportunities to hold their own in the top-flight.
“This is often a question between clubs for tradition and financial situation of the clubs in the former East bloc,” Wolter tells Sport360°.
“We are of the opinion that all of these clubs in the former East, like Hansa and others, all had their chances in the Bundesliga or second league and finally, they went bankrupt.
“We had a World Cup Arena in Leipzig, and no club. And for that reason, it was good to start a club in a region where so many people are interested in football.
“Our club is four years old, but also, Hansa Rostock is not really a traditional club, because it was a former politician that said a club from Saxony had to move to the coast.
“There’s a question of tradition there, too. Leipzig is a big city, with lots of fans, and the economic impact is good, so we might have a chance of reaching the Bundesliga.”
RB Leipzig are expecting one of their biggest crowds of the 3.Liga season on Saturday, when Rot-Weiss Erfurt travel to the Red Bull Arena for the ‘Central German Derby’. The clash of tradition, politics and regional pride make this a recipe for an intense affair with up to 20,000 expected.
Building on youth
Matches against FC Hansa Rostock and other East German clubs will bring in the strongest crowds in the German third division; although the league itself is clouded in financial problems. That is what is prompting RB Leipzig to invest in their future. Signings this summer include 18-year-old Joshua Kimmich from Stuttgart and Danish U19 international Yussuf Poulsen.
“The decision several years ago for every club in the first and second league to have a Youth Academy helps a lot," adds Wolter. “This is something we do here in Leipzig right at the start. It’s our philosophy to build a strong club. We’ve started from under-eight to U23 so we have lots of teams. It’s the future.
“It’s one reason for German football’s success. Many players from FC Bayern came through the academies, also, and Borussia Dortmund too.”
Asked again about the immoral circumstances of Red Bull’s involvement in German football, Wolter refuted claims from rival supporters of being “the Hoffenheim of East Germany”.
“The Red Bull philosophy is completely different: It’s a question of legacy,” he reiterates. “We rented the stadium for 20 years and built an academy which cost us 30million. It’s a big investment in our future, so this is the difference between the American/Russian investor to what we have in Germany.
“I still don’t know whether the German model is better than the English one. The 50+1 model only provides security against Russian oligarchs buying clubs and selling it off in years to come. When you see our team now, there are no big stars or millionaires.”
There may not be stars or millionaires in the meantime; but Leipzig’s ambitions are serious and it seems only a matter of time before they’re shaping up against Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga.
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