You can’t talk about RB Leipzig’s rise and avant-garde approach to the transfer market without first talking about their rapid rise to success.
Popular energy drink maker Red Bull GmbH is not only a heavyweight in the food industry, but also owns multiple sports teams. Red Bull Racing (who won the 2022 F1 World Championship), Formula 1’s AlphaTauri and esports team OG are all managed by Red Bull. The company’s crown jewel in sports investment may be the complex Red Bull soccer scouting network that has swept Germany and Europe.
Red Bull began its dominance by acquiring SV Austria Salzburg and renaming it to RB Salzburg. FC Liefering quickly converted from a competing second-tier team to the feeder side. MLS acquired the New York Red Bulls (formerly the NY/NJ MetroStars) for a hefty sum, introducing Red Bull Brazil and the now-defunct Red Bull Ghana.
red bull official
Finally, in 2010, Red Bull acquired tier 5 side SSV Markranstädt and rebranded it to RB Leipzig. Leipzig circumvented Germany’s 50+1 rule (members of a club must control 50% of the club and an additional 1 share in him), making the road to owning Leipzig shares a very difficult one. I made it
The club has just 17 members, all of whom are employees of the brand. It is very expensive (around $1100 to hold a supporting role compared to $67 in Dortmund) and an application to hold a stake in Leipzig can be revoked without reason. Though popular and controversial, Red Bull’s immorality increased its influence on the club and helped set a single, unified vision.
With connections around the world and a healthy infusion of money from wealthy Red Bull owners, Leipzig are rapidly advancing up the German football pyramid, winning four clubs in just seven years to reach their goal of playing 10 years in the Bundesliga. got a promotion.
It has not grown complacent. In his first year in the Bundesliga, he challenged Bayern for the title and finished second in the season. Since then, Leipzig have won his DFB his Cup and become Europa League semi-finalists and Champions League semi-finalists.
Leipzig has followed the City Football Group’s approach to creating a world-class product. Red Bull currently owns Leipzig, Salzburg, Liefering (as feeder team), New York Red Bulls, Bragantino and Red Bull Brazil (as feeder team to Brazil). Not only has it acquired a large base of fans around the world, but it has also acquired a large scout base.
Their American roots helped them discover talents like Caden Clark, Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams. Bragantino and Red Bull His Brazil has produced talent such as Claudinho at Zenit and Igor at Fiorentina. The pipeline from Salzburg to Leipzig is legendary, with Naby Keita, Dayot Upamecano, Dominik Szoboslai and Amadou Haidara all benefiting from the close ties between the two clubs.
Leipzig player substitutions
It’s easy to cite the club’s network when describing Leipzig’s success. But we have to appreciate their shrewd transfer strategy that helps them replace players while laying the groundwork for a new generation.
First of all, you’ll notice that Leipzig are thrifty in the money they spend on their players. The most expensive signing was his Naby Keita from Salzburg he was signed for $32 million. Already this season, other teams in the Bundesliga have paid more than that deal with four transfers of Sadio Mane, Matisse de Ligt, Sebastian Haller and Karim Adeyemi.
At the same time, RB Leipzig remain focused on keeping debt down, so the team does not want to compete for top-level talent.
Second, Leipzig spends money exclusively on promising talent, not on proven names. Leipzig’s most expensive acquisition of his 27+ player was Marvin Comper, who joined Leipzig in 2014 from Fiorentina for around $600,000. The show of David Raum, Xaver Schlager, 24, and Timo Werner, 26.
These two ideals help them make big profits. When Liverpool bought Keita from his RB Leipzig for his transfer fee of £52.75 million, the Keita deal earned Leipzig around $33 million. Leipzig sold Upamecano to Bayern for a net profit of $26 million and signed Bryan Broby on a free before selling him to Ajax for $18 million.
Sooner or later, Leipzig’s consistent gains in the transfer market will be an economic advantage that will allow him to lure players from struggling Bundesliga teams while attracting the Premier League’s more famous players, such as Bayern and Dortmund. In the recent transfer market, they are showing hints of doing so.
recent remittance
Leipzig have signed David Raum, who scored 3 goals and 11 assists for Hoffenheim in midfield in the Bundesliga. He attracted attention from Dortmund and Bayern, but eventually signed a five-year contract with Di Rothen Bren. They paid $28 million for the fullback, so it wasn’t cheap either. I took a risk and went all-in, hoping for .
Leipzig also paid $13 million to Wolfsburg box-to-box midfielder Saver Schlager, who was also linked to Dortmund. Although less expensive than Raum, Schlager has grown to be a very important figure in Leipzig’s midfield.
Leipzig also signed Timo Werner, but this was to the disadvantage of a struggling Chelsea who failed to score. Along with his Abdou Diallo loan deal at PSG, the two internationals feel Leipzig will bring results to the table or provide valuable depth. For Werner, the impact on the team was immediate, as he has nine goals and four assists in 17 appearances. Diallo has made 11 appearances for Leipzig since he joined Leipzig in September and has been consistent off the bench.
All future deals for Salzburg young talent Benjamin Sesco ($26.1m) and Genk keeper Maarten Vandevoort ($10.8m, due to arrive in 2024) in the summer of 2023 will see the club sign big deals. It shows that the emphasis is on nurturing the young before tying. Sesko is an exciting forward his drawing compared to Haaland and another example of his Red Bull pipeline in that element. Vandevoordt, the old keeper, should take over his post when Peter Gulacsi retires or retires.
slow progress to the top
Thanks to a clever transfer business and a slow rise to the top of the Bundesliga, Leipzig are having a great season. They scored a hard-fought draw against Bayern Munich, with defender Marcel Hastenberg, who joined Leipzig in 2015 at the age of 23, scoring the equalizing goal.
Leipzig are sixth in the Bundesliga, six points behind Bayern and one behind second-placed Frankfurt. Leipzig performed well in the Champions League as well, scoring 12 points in his six games in the group stage and setting the marquee for his matchup against Manchester City in the Round of 16.
One of their successes on the field is thanks to former Dortmund manager Marco Rose, who took over the Leipzig post after Domenico Tedesco lost 4-1 to Shakhtar. Rose made the team play in a four-back rather than the three-back formation Tedesco preferred.
When it comes to the ball, Leipzig are a very aggressive and attacking team. In total he has the third most total touches, the third most shots and the third most goals. His team excels at breaking through midfield and entering the box with short, fast passes. like they should. With superstars like Christopher Nkunku, Werner and Szoboszlai on the ball, it’s easy to put together a productive attack. The magic of Rose’s work was in defense.
Leipzig still pressed like animals, as their predecessors (Ralph Rangnick, Julian Nagelsmann, Jesse Marsh) had encouraged, and kept a clean sheet, even though they were very hard without the ball. It takes a more complicated approach to maintaining. Wingers like Nkunku and Emil Forsberg lead counterattacks by dropping him deep, midfielders playing towards the center, and the general high press that has plagued European defenses for almost two decades. can’t see That conservative approach helped them. They haven’t given up more than his 1 xG in his six-game streak.
recipe for success
Every part of Leipzig is not only growing fast and adapting, it’s actually succeeding. Leipzig have great opportunities to level up in the Bundesliga.
On-pitch form is on their side (Leipzig haven’t lost a game since September) and they have some of the best players in Europe. A seasoned front his office has quietly made some of the best transfers on the continent, building super teams to take the country by storm. All is well as Leipzig continue to win.
Photo: IMAGO/Nordphoto