RB Leipzig
RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V., commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, or simply Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bull GmbH, which purchased the playing rights of fifth-tier side SSV Markranstädt with the intent of advancing the new club to the top-flight Bundesliga within eight years. The men's professional football club is run by the spin-off organization RasenBallsport Leipzig GmbH. RB Leipzig plays its home matches at the Red Bull Arena. The club nickname is.
After its foundation, RB Leipzig quickly rose through the ranks of German football, starting in the fifth-tier NOFV-Oberliga Süd. The club achieved successive promotions the following years, eventually being promoted to the Bundesliga in 2015–16. In their debut top-flight season, they qualified to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history, following a runner-up finish. They also became a regular feature in the Champions League, reaching the semi-finals of the competition in 2020. The club won its first domestic honour, the DFB Pokal, in back-to-back seasons, 2022 and 2023.
RB Leipzig's entrance into the upper echelons of German football has proven controversial, as the club's heavy corporate influence is regarded by many Germans to be antithetical to the traditional ownership, structure and management of sports clubs in Germany. On the other hand, some have expressed appreciation for what they view as an honourable endeavour to establish a durable footprint for the Bundesliga in the former East Germany, which previously had been at best tenuous since German reunification.
History
2006–2009: Negotiations with various clubs and founding
Before investing in Leipzig, Red Bull GmbH, led by co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz, spent three and a half years looking for a suitable location to invest in German football. Besides Leipzig, the company also considered a location in Western Germany, exploring such cities as Hamburg, Munich and Düsseldorf.The company made its first attempt to enter the German football scene in 2006. On the advice of Franz Beckenbauer, a personal friend of Dietrich Mateschitz, the company decided to invest in Leipzig. The local football club FC Sachsen Leipzig, successor to the former East German champions BSG Chemie Leipzig, had for years been in financial difficulties. Red Bull GmbH drew up plans to invest up to 50 million euros in the club. The company planned a takeover, with a change of the team's colours and club name. Involved in the arrangements was film entrepreneur Michael Kölmel, sponsor of FC Sachsen Leipzig and owner of the Zentralstadion. By 2006, FC Sachsen Leipzig played in the Oberliga, by then the fourth tier in the German football league system. Playing in the fourth tier, the club had to undergo the German Football Association licensing procedure. Red Bull GmbH and the club were close to a deal, but the plans were vetoed by the DFB, which rejected the proposed new club name "FC Red Bull Sachsen Leipzig" fearing too much influence from the company. After months of fan protests against Red Bull's involvement, which deteriorated into violence, the company officially abandoned the plans.
Red Bull GmbH then turned to the former West Germany. The company made contact with Hamburg-based club FC St. Pauli, and met representatives of the club to discuss a sponsorship deal. A short time before, supporters of FC St. Pauli had participated in protests against Red Bull's takeover of SV Austria Salzburg. Once it became clear to the Hamburg side that the company had plans that went far beyond conventional sponsoring, it immediately ended the contact, and the question was never considered by the club's management. Red Bull then made contact with TSV 1860 Munich. Negotiations began behind closed doors, but the club was not interested in an investment and ended the discussions.
In 2007, Red Bull GmbH made plans to invest in Fortuna Düsseldorf, a traditional club with more than 100 years of history. The plans became public, and it was revealed that the company wanted to acquire more than 50 percent of the shares. Rumours spread that the company wanted to rename the club "Red Bull Düsseldorf", or similar. This was immediately met with protests from club supporters. As with FC Sachsen Leipzig, Red Bull's offer also ran into legal difficulties: the statutes of the DFB did not allow changing a club name for advertising purposes, nor for an external investor to obtain a majority share.
Eventually, the plans were soundly rejected by club members. The company began to reconsider the former East Germany.
Leipzig was considered a suitable place for an investment, with the city having a rich history in football, being the meeting place for the founding of the DFB and the home of the first German national football champions, VfB Leipzig. During East Germany's existence, local teams such as 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig and its rival, BSG Chemie Leipzig, played at the highest level of the East German football league system, and even on the international level. The current state of football there was, however, poor. No team from the city had played in the Bundesliga since 1994, and no team had played in a professional league since 1998. Its two best teams would soon play in the Oberliga, and local football was plagued by fan violence. The city hungered for top-level football. Leipzig had a population of around 500,000 inhabitants. The city thus had considerable economic strength and fan potential. At the same time, there were no Bundesliga clubs located anywhere near the city, which further strengthened the possibility of attracting sponsors and fans.
Leipzig was fortunate to have a well-developed infrastructure, in the form of an international airport, motorway connections, and a suitable stadium. The Zentralstadion was a former 2006 FIFA World Cup venue and the second-largest football stadium in the east of Germany, after the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
An investment in a club playing in one of the top divisions in Germany would have been a costly affair for Red Bull. From previous experience, the company knew that the existing traditions of such a club would hinder success in the league. It also knew that an investment in a club playing in one of the top divisions would meet legal difficulties, making such an investment risky. Instead, the company found that a newly established club, designed for the company, would be the better option for an investment. Early in 2009, Red Bull GmbH contacted the Saxony Football Association, about the procedure to establish a new club in Saxony.
A newly established club would need teams and a playing license. If it did not acquire a license from another club, it would have to start playing in the lowest tier league, the Kreisklasse. The company searched for a club playing in the Oberliga, since 2008 the fifth tier in the German football league system, and therefore not subject to the DFB licensing system. On the advice of media entrepreneur Michael Kölmel, the company was led to SSV Markranstädt, a small club from a town 13 kilometers west of Leipzig. The club was positively inclined to entering a partnership with a global company. Its president, Holger Nussbaum, wanted to secure the club's long-term finances, and designed a plan to engage Red Bull GmbH. Holger Nussbaum presented his plan to Kölmel, who saw his chance and decided to join in the deal. Assisted by Kölmel, Red Bull GmbH began negotiations with SSV Markranstädt. Five weeks after the negotiations began, SSV Markranstädt had agreed to sell its licence for the Oberliga to Red Bull GmbH. The cost was not disclosed, but SSV Markranstädt is believed to have received a compensation of 350,000 euro.
RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. was founded on 19 May 2009. All seven founding members were either employees or agents of Red Bull GmbH. Andreas Sadlo was elected chairman, and Joachim Krug was hired as sporting director. Andreas Sadlo, another founding member, was a well-known football player agent, working for the agency "Stars & Friends". In order to avoid future objections from the German Football Association, Sadlo resigned as player agent, before taking the position of chairman. The statutes of the DFB would not allow a player agent to be involved in the operating affairs of a club. Krug had earlier been employed as coach and manager by Rot Weiss Ahlen, at that time known as LR Ahlen and sponsored by cosmetics manufacturer LR International.
RB Leipzig became the fifth football commitment in the Red Bull sporting portfolio, following FC Red Bull Salzburg in Austria, the New York Red Bulls in the United States, Red Bull Brasil in Brazil and Red Bull Ghana in Ghana. In contrast with previous clubs, RB Leipzig did not bear the corporate name. The statutes of the DFB would not permit a corporate name to be included in the club name. Instead, the club adopted the unusual name RasenBallsport, literally meaning "Lawn Ball Sports". By using the initials "RB", as in "Red Bull", the corporate identity could still be recognized.
RB Leipzig began as a partnership with fifth-division side SSV Markranstädt. The partnership meant that SSV Markranstädt would provide the initial core of RB Leipzig, as the starting point for RB's leap into German football. RB Leipzig acquired a playing license for the Oberliga, the top three men's teams and a senior men's team from SSV Markranstädt. The first team was completely taken over, with its training staff and its head coach, Tino Vogel, son of former East German footballer Eberhard Vogel.
The transfer of the licence for the Oberliga had to be approved by the North East German Football Association. RB Leipzig would need at least four junior teams, including an A-junior team, to obtain the licence. In the deal, SSV Markranstädt had kept its junior department, and RB Leipzig lacked junior teams. Red Bull GmbH therefore approached FC Sachsen Leipzig. The club was experiencing financial issues, and could no longer finance its youth department. The NOFV approved the transfer of the playing right on 13 June 2009, and RB Leipzig was given one year to complete its stable of junior teams. The club then acquired four junior teams from FC Sachsen Leipzig. The Saxony Football Association urged the acquisition, in order to prevent a talent exodus.
RB Leipzig would play its inaugural season in the Oberliga at the Stadion am Bad in Markranstädt. The stadium held 5,000 seats and traditionally the home ground of SSV Markranstädt. The plans were for the club to soon move to the far larger Zentralstadion, hopefully in 2010, after advancing to the Regionalliga. The stadium was owned by Michael Kölmel, who had been known to Red Bull GmbH for years and had, as a negotiation partner, facilitated the establishment of RB Leipzig. Michael Kölmel had himself been involved in local football previously, as a sponsor of FC Sachsen Leipzig. He was eager to find a strong tenant for the stadium, which last saw FC Sachsen Leipzig play in the Regionalliga behind closed doors. Negotiations between Red Bull GmbH and Michael Kölmel began immediately upon the club's founding. Red Bull GmbH reserved the naming right to the stadium in June 2009, meaning that the name could not be sold to another company.
On its founding, RB Leipzig aimed to play first-division Bundesliga football within eight years, following the model previously used by Red Bull GmbH in Austria and the United States. It was predicted that Red Bull GmbH would invest 100 million euro in the club over a period of ten years, and Mateschitz openly spoke of the possibility of ultimately winning the German championship. The last team from Leipzig to do so was VfB Leipzig in 1913.