“Red Bull gives you wings”, the slogan of the famous energy drink brand really fits this Leipzig team. Founded in 2009, the East German club took seven seasons to climb from the 5th division to the German elite. The record in the Bundesliga for five seasons is brilliant with the worst result being 6th place in 2017/2018 and a team which finished 3rd twice and twice 2nd. In search of a first title, RB Leipzig know that it is difficult to beat a Bayern Munich which remains on 9 titles in a row, but it will put the means to achieve it. Faithful to their sporting logic and their philosophy, the Winged Bulls have been in anticipation and have targeted young profiles in order to strengthen themselves. Prepared to lose Dayot Upamecano (22) and Ibrahima Konaté (22) who respectively left for Bayern Munich (€ 42.5m) and Liverpool (€ 40m), Leipzig had bet on two players to replace them. First of all, Josko Gvardiol (19 years old), the young Croatian defender of Dinamo Zagreb (18.8M €) who participated in the last Euro. Purchased in the summer of 2020, he had stayed in his training club for a year at the end of its development. The second is none other than Mohamed Simakan (21) snatched from Strasbourg this winter against 15 million euros while the sale of Dayot Upamecano had just been made public. Also arriving this summer after finishing the season in Alsace, the native of Marseille will like the young Croatian join a defense that still has sacred executives with Willi Orban (28 years old), Nordi Mukiele (23 years old), Lukas Klostermann (25 years) and Marcel Halstenberg (29 years). Even if for the latter it is less certain.
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Indeed, if Leipzig has lost only Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konaté among its executives, Marcel Halstenberg (29 years old) and Marcel Sabitzer (27 years old) have only one year of contract. Priority files, especially since the last does not seem oriented towards an extension and could leave this summer. These two players are precious in the locker room and all the more for Marcel Sabitzer who was the key man for Julian Nagelsmann with Emil Forsberg, last season, at the creation. Borussia Dortmund (which is also interested in Halstenberg), Tottenham, Arsenal, Rome or AC Milan have been closely or indirectly linked to the Austrian. Here again, the planning for Leipzig has made it possible to anticipate a possible departure of Marcel Sabitzer as the Hungarian nugget Dominik Szoboszlai (20) should be reinstated for the start of the season and will play an important role this year. It must also be said that he will find on the bench his former coach Jesse Marsch who took over from Julian Nagelsmann who left for Bayern Munich. Losing the latter could have been a big drag for Leipzig, but the club couldn’t really beat Jesse Marsch, who was bottle-fed at Red Bull. Considered a gifted, the 47-year-old American technician coached the New York Red Bulls from 2015 to 2018 before flying to Leipzig in 2018 to spend a year as an assistant to Ralf Rangnick. Thus, he has already worked with 14 (16 if we count Dominik Szboszlai and Hee-chan Hwang whom he had under his command in Salzburg) of the 31 players who make up the professional group of Leipzig.
A new coach stamped Red Bull, a reinforced attack
Crowned with two Austrian championship titles, specializing in the development of young talents and accustomed to the Red Bull sphere, Jesse Marsch is a 4-4-2 follower. So, if the three-way system used under Julian Nagelsmann could be kept and readjusted, there is a risk of a tactical evolution in Leipzig next year. It takes time and Jesse Marsch realizes it. He has already put his team to face its responsibilities to quickly upgrade during the preparation as he explained to Sky Germany : “In the end, we should have more tactical clarity, without the ball, with the ball and in the set pieces. But I also said to the guys: the most important thing is team spirit and solidarity in the group. Our team is split into four groups every day and we always have a competition in which we fight against each other. Sometimes it’s a fun exercise and sometimes it’s a tournament. It’s always about helping each other and having fun doing it. The first few days are going well, but we still have more to do. “ To achieve his ends, he will be able to rely on an unchanged midfielder boosted by the return of injury from Dominik Szoboszlai, but also a reinforced attack.
Best defense of the last Bundesliga exercise with 32 goals conceded (12 less than Bayern Munich), Leipzig has less compared offensively with 60 goals in 34 matches. The figure is quite low for a title contender and made it the 6th attack behind Wolfsburg (61), Borussia Mönchengladbach (64), Eintracht Frankfurt (69), Borussia Dortmund (75) and especially Bayern Munich ( 99). In this context, the return to two points as it was done under Ralf Rangnick and Ralph Hasenhüttl should be beneficial to players like Hee-chan Hwang and Yussuf Poulsen who suffered last year, but also Christopher Nkunku or Dani Olmo who can play as a false nine around a real spike. Leipzig’s tactical flexibility has always been a strength and in addition two strong players have arrived. First Brian Brobbey (19) who arrives free from Ajax Amsterdam where he will have been prominent this season. Then, André Silva (25) who is the second highest scorer of the last Bundesliga season (28 goals in 32 matches and also 8 assists) and relaunched at Eintracht Frankfurt. Orphan of a player capable of scoring more than 20 league goals since Timo Werner left for Chelsea, Leipzig may have found this player with André Silva.
Leipzig also got their hands on American attacking midfielder Caden Clark (18) who will arrive this winter from the New York Red Bulls. With less certainty than last year, but with a stronger strike force, RB Leipzig can therefore dream big. This is also the credo of Jesse Marsch who thinks he can do great things with this team: “I think the current squad is the best and strongest we’ve ever had in Leipzig. This competition in the team should be an advantage and not a disadvantage for us. We need support within the group. I think we can do it and the quality of the team is definitely a plus for us. Definitely reaching the Champions League is a minimum for us. Another goal is to fight for a title. I know it’s not so nice here in Germany to publicly announce such big goals, but I came to Leipzig to win. ” The message is strong from Jesse Marsch. Successor of Julian Nagelsmann in Leipzig, he will not hesitate to take the place of German champion if the opportunity arises.
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