TONIGHT, RB Leipzig will take on French giants PSG in what promises to be a Champions League semi-final with plenty of goals.
However, aside from The Red Bulls very own supporters, German football fans will most likely be cheering on Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Co.
RB Leipzig’s players celebrate beating Atletico Madrid to reach the Champions league semi finalCredit: Getty – Pool
The club are owned and financed by the Red Bull energy drink companyCredit: Getty Images – Getty
For RB Leipzig are the most hated team in Germany, thanks in part to the way they were formed, have been financed, and gone against the country’s fundamental approach to the beautiful game.
Founded by Red Bull chief Dietrich Mateschitz in 2009, when the energy drink company bought fifth tier SSV Markranstadt, their success story knows no bounds.
Four promotions in just eight years saw RB Leipzig enter the Bundesliga, where they’ve provided a genuine threat to Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund’s dominance.
And now, they’ve got the biggest game in their history – and one step away from the biggest game in club football, the Champions League final.
BACK TO THE BEGINNING
In 2006, Mateschitz proposed the idea of bankrolling a German football club.
Initially, he set his sights on another Leipzig club – FC Sachsen Leipzig – but the German FA refused to sanction the move.
St Pauli, 1860 Munich and Fortuna Dusseldorf were also targeted, with protests from fans putting pay to any developments with those teams.
However, for the 2009-10 season, after years of negotiations and research, they bought the licence of fifth division team SSV Markranstadt.
The message was clear, they were going to start at the bottom and rise to the top.
Red Bull chief Dietrich Mateschitz founded RB Leipzig in 2009Credit: Getty Images – Getty
Today, RB Leipzig welcome around 40,000 supporters to their Red Bull Arena after initially attracting around 2,100 fansCredit: Reuters
POLITICS
Before Leipzig came along, the football landscape in East Germany was bleak.
There hadn’t been a team from the the former Eastern Bloc state competing in the Bundesliga since Energie Cottbus were relegated in 2009.
There was a huge potential for a team to succeed in that region.
In their debut season, an average of 2,150 fans followed the team’s transition – a far cry from the 38,000-plus who cheer them on at the Red Bull Arena.
But their business model didn’t endear them to the rest of Germany.
BENDING THE RULES
DFB laws state that German clubs must operate under the ’50+1′ rule. That means fans who are members own the majority of shares and can influence decisions regarding the club, like ticket prices.
RB Leipzig are a little different, though. Their rivals feel they exploited the system by having just 17 members who can vote, with most linked to the Red Bull company.
And many are irked that Red Bull cheated a law that says German clubs can’t be named after sponsors.
RB Leipzig exploited the 50+1 rule and have just 17 membersCredit: Getty – Contributor
Borussia Monchengladbach fans protest at the Red Bull ArenaCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The club’s official name is actually RasenBallsport Leipzig, which translates to LawnBallsport Leipzig.
They’ve been given the tag the ‘most hated club in Germany’ and still face protests every game from opposition fans.
And when they’re playing at home, the away end at the Red Bull Arena is often boycotted.
Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke once called RB Leipzig “a club built to push up the revenues for Red Bull”.
SUCCESS STORY
In defence of Leipzig, they haven’t quite bought success the way many imagine – with owner Mateschitz sitting on a £21billion fortune and able to flex his muscle in the transfer market.
They invested in players no older than 23 when the project began, built a state-of-the-art academy and training centres, while preaching a brand of attractive attacking football that their reserve and youth teams must adhere to.
Of the current first-teamers, Danish striker Yussuf Poulsen was signed in 2013 at the age of 19, when the club were languishing in the third division.
Lukas Klostermann was discovered at Bochum in 2014, aged 18. Austrian midfielder Marcel Sabitzer moved in 2014, at just 20.
Swedish playmaker Emil Forsberg swapped Swedish champions Malmo for RB Leipzig in 2015 for second division football.
Swedish playmaker Emil Forsberg has been with RB Leipzig since they were a second division sideCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Dayot Upamecano has blossomed into one of Europe’s best defendersCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The recent sale of Timo Werner to Chelsea shows that RB Leipzig are a selling clubCredit: Getty Images – Getty
While, players like Liverpool’s Naby Keita were discovered by a pool of network scouts around the world, with former Reds boss Gerard Houllier holding the position of head of global football for the firm.
His links to the French market have been imperative, with RB Leipzig stealing a march on talents like in-demand defender Dayot Upamecano and Christopher Nkunku, who swapped PSG for the Leipzig experiment.
But, as has been proven with Keita and most recently Timo Werner who joined Chelsea, they are a selling club if the price is right.
In their first season in the Bundesliga, they finished runners-up. Since then, they’ve come sixth, third and third again this term.
OWE IT ALL TO RALF
The arrival of Ralf Rangnick at the club in 2012 is heralded as the moment RB Leipzig established their own identity.
After he was appointed sporting director, successive promotions followed with his blueprint for the club shining through.
Then he became manager himself and helped the club gain promotion to the top flight.
Ralf Rangnick is credited with creating the blueprint for RB Leipzig’s successCredit: EPA
Rangnick, who was head of sport and development at RB Leipzig, left his role last month because he wants a return to managementCredit: Getty – Contributor
He has stepped in twice to manage the Bundesliga giants, when they’ve been in between managers and was head of sport and development for the whole Red Bull regime until last month.
Back in July, Rangnick was touted to fulfil a similar role at AC Milan and help rebuild the fallen Serie A giants.
But the Italians refused to meet his £6.4million contract release clause and the deal was called off.
He has since walked away from RB Leipzig, and is ready to step back into management.
Clearly, whoever he manages will benefit from his blueprint. They might just make the last four of the Champions league.
RB Leipzig shock Atletico Madrid as Germans earn their first Champions League semi-final spot
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
