OMG — RB Leipzig

That the Red Bulls face not only rejection but outright hatred, especially away from home, is part of the German football landscape.

That the Red Bulls face not only rejection

That the Red Bulls face not only rejection but outright hatred, especially away from home, is part of the German football landscape.

That the Red Bulls face not only rejection but outright hatred, especially away from home, is part of the German football landscape. It became brutally clear in Dortmund on February 4, 2017. What rained down on Leipzig’s players and their 6,000 travelling fans in the Signal Iduna Park went beyond all standards of decency, morality and fan culture: hate banners, some of them openly dehumanising, and ugly scenes around the stadium. The DFB reacted by closing the famous south stand, the Yellow Wall, for one match.

Slogans, nothing but slogans: RB Leipzig is one

Slogans, nothing but slogans: RB Leipzig is one of the most ambitious projects in German football, but at times also a self-help seminar powered by Red Bull.

Slogans, nothing but slogans: RB Leipzig is one of the most ambitious projects in German football, but at times also a self-help seminar powered by Red Bull. When Julian Nagelsmann arrived in 2019 he covered the training ground with quotations from famous people, following a tendency already visible under Rangnick and Hasenhüttl. “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing” and “Make each day your masterpiece” were among the slogans on display.

The denied Fair Play prize: in August 2015

The denied Fair Play prize: in August 2015 Leipzig were involved in the last DFB-Pokal match to be abandoned.

The denied Fair Play prize: in August 2015 Leipzig were involved in the last DFB-Pokal match to be abandoned. At third-tier Osnabrück, the then second-division Bulls were 1–0 down when a lighter hit referee Petersen on the head in the 71st minute. Before the sporting court hearing, Leipzig offered to replay the match because they did not want to progress on a green-table ruling. The DFB refused on legal-certainty grounds. Leipzig went through without playing and lost the chance to be properly credited for fair play, though they had genuinely tried.

Row over Zlatan’s shirt: on July 18, 2014

Row over Zlatan’s shirt: on July 18, 2014 Paris Saint-Germain, with Zlatan Ibrahimović, visited Leipzig for a friendly.

Row over Zlatan’s shirt: on July 18, 2014 Paris Saint-Germain, with Zlatan Ibrahimović, visited Leipzig for a friendly. After the break Daniel Frahn asked Zlatan for his shirt. Zlatan waved him off and indicated he had already promised it to Terrence Boyd. Frahn was annoyed and complained afterwards that respect apparently no longer existed. Zlatan then generously offered a second shirt. Yet another tiny internal Leipzig crisis.

First DFB Cup title in club history in 2022 — and then the second one straight afterwards in 2023.