“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new”
-Socrates
Socrates believed that in order to change, one has to accept it. He emphasised that instead of harping on lost time, change should inspire us to build something new which can inspire others. For a club like RasenBallsport Leipzig, it seems the appropriate philosophy, given the amount of criticism they have faced on their way to the Bundesliga.
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Change for this Eastern Germany club has been rapid. Considered as one of the fastest rising clubs, Leipzig are already starting to make waves in the Bundesliga, and recent victories over Dortmund and Hamburger SV in the league only cements the notion that Leipzig are here to stay and challenge the existing hierarchy. The club currently lie third on the table after picking up 7 points from a possible 9.
The hate and visceral anger that has been directed at the club has been relentless but so has been the club's pursuit to get to the Bundesliga. The club which has often been the target of opposition fans, have had to deal with offensive chants and their club owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, being compared to Hitler, while the RB's fans have been likened to Nazis.
Origins and rapid rise
The club’s origins are fairly new and it is from the traditional manner in which football clubs are built. This, though, hasn't prevented the club from being competitive. Considered an upstart in the league, the club came into existence after its owner acquired SSV Markanstadt, a fifth division side in the year 2009.
The name Red Bull Leipzig was turned down by the league, but their current name Rasenballsport Leipzig, meaning "lawn ball sports" was approved. The abbreviated RB has served the purpose of promoting the Red Bull brand, and also with merchandising and brand management.
Having looked at various clubs, the management finally settled on the fifth division side. One of the primary reasons for acquiring the club was the possibility to adhere to the rules of licensing in order to compete in the lower divisions of the Bundesliga. The licensing process is defined by the league statutes and lays down the guidelines for obtaining the license.
The license takes into consideration the financial requirements that are to be adhered to in order complete a league campaign without any financial deficiencies. This licensing process is applicable in the top two tiers only and has been defined in the statutes of the German league association (DFL).
Investment by Austrian energy drink maker, Red Bull meant there was a sudden financial explosion into the club, as Red Bull changed the outlook of the club –including the colours, crest and name and, moved the club's home ground to the 44,300 seat stadium in the centre of the city. There were some initial protests about the club shedding its history in the face of capitalism, but for a city deprived of football for such a long period of time, it was a welcome move.
The fact that the owner of the club, Dietrich Mateschitz, whose net worth is estimated to be $9 billion, has invested quite a bit of his personal wealth hasn’t gone unnoticed among opposing supporters. In fact, his investment has been responsible for the rapid rise of the club, and that has not always been well received by other clubs.
Having moved the club to the new stadium, the owner then went on to appoint former Schalke coach, Ralf Rangnick as the sporting director. Rangnick has been instrumental in the team’s rapid rise of the club.
Combining Red Bull’s financial power and his coaching acumen, the club's rapid rise and them buying their way to the top has been the subject of many debates in Germany, causing quite a bit of consternation among German clubs and their supporters.
Leipzig city, which was a former football powerhouse, hasn’t had a local club in the Bundesliga since 1994, and as a result, the locals have taken to the club wholeheartedly.
The 50+1 rule
The club which has only 17 members since their founding year have been criticised for their implementation of the “50+1 rule”. Some of the accusations are about the club “ruining the sport of football” than the club flouting the rule.
A reading of the rule, as mentioned in the statutes of the German League association (DFL) guarantees that no investor can gain majority voting rights in a club registered as a stock company. This in effect guarantees the members a veto vote which they are able to exercise in matters of ticket prices, stadium arrangements and so forth.
However, with Leipzig having members who are on the payroll of the company it has been mooted as a possible ‘conflict of interest’.
Leipzig, haven’t broken any rule as they have a membership scheme in place and most importantly are not registered as a stock company. However, the club has been accused of deviating away from the spirit of the rule as it discourages fans from obtaining club membership.
The discouragement comes in the form of registration fees and application fees which have been unjustifiably high in nature. Now, though, it has been revised to €62 per annum for adult membership, while gold membership will set back a supporter by €1,000 a year, with no voting rights.
Moreover, it is the boycotts and protest by opposing fans that have been more of a hindrance. The recent fixture against Dortmund was marked by controversy, when Dortmund refused Leipzig the licence to use their logo and name on a joint “friendship scarf”.
The locals aren’t complaining and point to the seven-year journey through the lower echelons of the league. The continuous rise represents a club ambitious enough to ruffle the feathers of the so-called ‘traditionalist’ clubs.
The corporate investment has often been looked down upon by opposing fans but Leipzig fans instead, point to clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg which are also “company clubs”. Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen have received financial support from their sponsors, Volkswagen and from Bayer, which has a healthy pharmaceutical empire.
Matthias Kiessling, a self-styled "tactics geek and pragmatist", mentions in his blog that the investment offered by Red Bull has been a permanent one rather than temporary, and the club's investment in the youth system is a clear indicator of that. Kiessling’s observations which were reported by The Guardian, bring to light the benefits of Red Bull’s investing in the club.
RB Leipzig – Futuristic way of Football
One of the major reasons for Leipzig being at the receiving end of such criticism is the manner the club has been commercialised. In comparison to the other “company clubs”, Red Bull has no geographical link with the club and is a part of a portfolio of clubs that is managed by Red Bull. Red Bull’s other football clubs are based across the world from Ghana to Brazil, with notable names such as Red Bull Salzburg in Austria.
The corporate has adopted “content marketing” as their method of choice to develop the club. What it means is that the company looks to develop the product instead of investing in an established product.
The corporate creation of the club is what has irked other club supporters, but for players involved in the project, it represents a gradual progress. The club has witnessed violent protests ranging from opposition supporters dressed in black to trolling a severed bull’s head.
Criticism aside, local fans have warmed up to the philosophy of the club, which is not only about achieving progress through “buying players”. Instead, the club has invested in players between the ages 17-24 and has established ultra modern facilities with individual relaxation places. In addition to that an indoor, artificial turf sprint track has also been constructed to gauge players’ strength and speed.
Players have described facilities as “among the best anywhere”, while the club's focus on youth and dedication to producing young and home-grown players has gone down well with the locals. This is indicated by the fact that 20,000 season tickets that were sold this season.
An indication of their impressive youth system is that they now have players who represent Germany at almost every age group. Further accusations of poaching the best talents among 15 and 16-year-olds from Germany and Eastern Europe, has also been a stick to beat them with by opposition supporters.
While it is hard to understand the aggression that has been directed against the club, one must appreciate the model and vision of the club owner to invest in a club in a city which has no one to challenge their status quo. The supporters of the club envision a future where the club can compete in Europe and have dismissed the opposition chants of Retortenklubs (Plastic clubs).
The club’s chairman, Oliver Mintzlaff, instead focuses on the philosophy of the club which has been viewed as attractive and expansive under the tutelage of Rangnick, regarded as the man who introduced pressing to German football. His tactical innovations have led him to being tagged as the “Godfather of German pressing”.
Rangnick, was quick to point out his recent encounter with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the chief executive of Bayern Munich, who apparently said that it would be good for the league to have more challengers to the existing hierarchy.
Takeaway for Other European clubs
For other European clubs, the Leipzig model presents a clear blueprint of how a club can be an instrument of long-term investment. The method of acquiring a club in the lower leagues with investment in infrastructure can lead to a sound foundation. In the event that Red Bull does look to cash out, the selling value will be much more than what it was purchased at, given the club's new found status in the Bundesliga.
In the Premier League, where outside investors are welcomed, the German club’s model should be easier to replicate, but most investors investing in the Premier League seem to look for instant success rather than investing in the philosophy of the club.
Red Bull and club owner Dietrich Mateschitz, for all his criticism, has chosen to invest in the heart and soul of the club, the youth system. It is a work in progress as the club looks to harness the local talent, while at the same time attracting youth talents across the country and Europe.
In fact, it is German football which stands to be the beneficiary of such investment as Leipzig’s players are already representing Germany across various youth levels.
As time progresses, the jibes will fade away, as was the case with clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City, who also got success thanks to an influx of wealth. Leipzig’s business model of patient ownership, rather than the ownership seen across the Premier League clubs, is the way to go.
