Red Bull Leipzig

RB Leipzig: the football club that money bought

In front of the pitch at RB Leipzig with my friend, Sam.

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to visit Leipzig, Saxony with a group from my school in Berlin. While there, I toured the stadium of the football club RB Leipzig, admired Leipzig's architecture that survived the war, and learned about the history of the city's Jewish community.

On Friday, the day we set off for Leipzig, there was a severe storm in Germany and elsewhere in Europe that delayed our trip, because trains were canceled and we had to travel via bus. Leipzig, however, was well worth the minor inconvenience of travel delays.

The modern chapel at Leipzig's University.

One of Leipzig's prominent Lutheran churches. 

The city has about 600 thousand residents, and is much quieter than Berlin. It feels like I imagine many typical European cities feel. There are cobblestone roads, street cars that efficiently transport residents around town, and many pedestrian-only zones in the Innenstadt, the city center.

In Leipzig, I tried some traditional food of the Saxony region. This included sausage, potatoes, and a heavy emphasis on delicatessen meats and cheeses. I also probably made too many stops at the Glühwein (hot spiced wine) booth, because it was very cold outside and the Glüwein only cost 1,50 Euros.

Leipzig's main Markt square.

-   RB Leipzig Tour   -

One of the highlights of the trip was touring RB Leipzig. I've found soccer very interesting, and enjoy playing the occasional pick-up game back home (despite being pretty bad). However, I don't really follow European soccer, so I was eager to learn more about how the leagues are organized here, how recruiting and drafting work, and the major rivalries.

Less than ten years ago, RB Leipzig was a fifth-division club called SSV Markranstädt. Few people had even heard the team's name outside of Saxony. But in 2009, the Austrian company Red Bull bought the club's license, and changed its name, crest, and kit. The transaction supposedly is worth 100 million Euros.

There are lamps rotated around the field to ensure that it is given enough light
and warmth to grow properly in the cold German winter.

The new name for the club, Rasenballsport Leipzig-- RB Leipzig for short-- suggests a name marketing Red Bull. The team is not allowed to be named after a sponsor, so this abbreviation is the closest possibility therein. Very clever, Red Bull.

This move angered fans and players from clubs with more working class, historic backgrounds. These teams feel they have built them selves up from the bottom. Leipzig, in contrast, in a matter of a few short years, is already able to scout and draft top talent.

Naby Keita's locker. In a 54 million Pound deal,
he will join Liverpool FC at the end of the
season.

I got to sit here and pretend that I was a coach getting interviewed by the press post-match.
There is space for coaches from both teams.

Additionally, the ownership of RB Leipzig, in contrast to other teams in the German Football Association, is held by very few individuals. Borussia Dortmund has 139,000 paying members who have a veto over issues like ticket prices. Leipzig, however, has only 17 members, who are mostly involved with Red Bull in some aspect.

There have been many boycotts, protests, and stunts by opposing fans of RB Leipzig. Locals, however, claim that the economic boost the club has brought the city and its local businesses is incredible. Issues such as this really complicate the relationship between politics, sportsmanship, and economics. A clear judgement of this move is hard to make.

Politics of the league aside, the tour was very cool. I got to see the press box, walk to the edge of the pitch, and look in the locker rooms and places where players meet the press. There were refrigerators stocked with Red Bull everywhere I looked. Red Bull is probably the last thing an athlete should drink, but marketing is marketing.

The original gates of the stadium. Leipzig used to have a gigantic Communist-era stadium.
 But when the new one was built with modern technology (and depth and height instead of width to accommodate
fans), they kept the walls of the old stadium around the shining new one.

Other Cool Stuff...

We love Glüwein!

I also saw the opera, "Der Rebell des Königs" with a few friends! French opera with German subtitles