In the past few days, all the stories that were written before the football company RB Leipzig existed have been dug up again. The stories go like this: RB Leipzig could just as well have been called RB Düsseldorf or even RB St. Pauli if they had been willing to accept entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz, who died on Sunday, and his generously lavish shower company into the club.
In Düsseldorf and in the Hamburg district there were cancellations, which is why RB Leipzig now exists. And the people of Leipzig, at least that is the point for supporters of the RB sports empire, are doing relatively well, while Düsseldorf and St. Pauli are only hanging around in the second division.
“It’s nice that such football is offered in Leipzig, i.e. in central Germany,” said RB coach and native of Leipzig Marco Rose on Monday. Rose, 46, sat at the front of the podium because Uefa protocol requires it, but he also seemed to see the event as a small privilege. The occasion was a Champions League home game against Real Madrid. And for the people of Leipzig, who are now used to European Cup nights, and for the European Cup-loving Rose, this is still an event that shines brightly in the diary.
Without Mateschitz “this club wouldn’t exist,” says RB captain Willi Orban
On the one hand, this is due to the aura of the opponent, which is obviously so engaging that Rose spoke for a quarter of an hour about the game on this Tuesday evening (9 p.m., live ticker SZ.de) with a clearly recognizable twinkle in his eyes. The fact that the game has a different meaning than the everyday program in the Bundesliga is also due to two other factors. Firstly, RB has a groundbreaking task ahead of it. Second: The Champions League duel with Real is the first game since the death of RB inventor Dietrich Mateschitz, which is why it is in a way exemplary of what has been done in the 13 years since he took over .
Coach Rose and Leipzig’s captain Willi Orban, who also sat on the podium for the press conference, saw it that way. Rose, who has known Mateschitz at sister club RB Salzburg in the past, praised his former boss as a man who had “started a lot of things” and had “very clear goals”. Orban thanked Mateschitz because without him “this club would not exist”.
And this club, which is now based in Leipzig and not in Düsseldorf, Hamburg or anywhere else, is already playing against Real on Tuesday about how things will continue on the international stage: If group opponents Shakhtar Donetsk lose at Celtic Glasgow at the same time, Leipzig could already make it into the knockout stages with a win against Real. A defeat, on the other hand, could be a harbinger of RB being forced into the Europa League. In the game against Real, attacker Christopher Nkunku, who recently injured his wrist and scored after being substituted on in the 3-3 win over FC Augsburg at the weekend, should play again from the start. For the ailing Dani Olmo and Timo Werner, it would be too early for Rose to start.
“We’re meeting one of the world’s best squads,” said Rose on Monday. For the spectators in the Leipzig Arena, this must be enough as a supporting program, because there will be no elaborate farewell for Mateschitz on Tuesday evening. RB will neither play with a black ribbon nor commemorate the Austrian with a minute’s silence. According to the club, this is what the Austrian wanted. Instead, there should be a “minute of remembrance” in which applause can be applauded.
Rose dared to take a look at the time after the Mateschitz era. According to the RB coach, the work will “continue in his spirit”. In Dusseldorf or in St. Pauli, this announcement is unlikely to trigger a storm of jubilation.
