Special Moments — RB Leipzig

“Will you have another beer?” That was the

“Will you have another beer?” That was the question put unexpectedly to Rolf Heller, president of Sachsen Leipzig, during a summer match in the west of the city in 2006.

“Will you have another beer?” That was the question put unexpectedly to Rolf Heller, president of Sachsen Leipzig, during a summer match in the west of the city in 2006. The man inviting him was Rolf Gall, a retired electrician and long-time Chemie Leipzig supporter who had gone looking for sponsors on his own initiative. Money was scarce in Leipzig. After reunification the old Chemie and Böhlen had merged into FC Sachsen Leipzig, which went bankrupt in 2001 and moved into the rebuilt Zentralstadion in 2004 — a venue traditionally associated with hated city rivals Lokomotive Leipzig.

Big football in Leipzig seemed only to happen when Bayern, Schalke or Bremen came to town for the heavily hyped Ligapokal. The giant stadium became an investment ruin with little atmosphere, and its co-owner Michael Kölmel wanted to sell.

That was the situation in which “Sachsen-Galli” met

That was the situation in which “Sachsen-Galli” met Heller over a beer.

That was the situation in which “Sachsen-Galli” met Heller over a beer. Heller lamented his problems, and Gall promised to help in the search for sponsors. Back at home in Hohenmölsen, Gall remembered that the father of former Bayern striker Alexander Zickler had links to Red Bull Salzburg.

He copied the address from a can of Red Bull and wrote a ten-page letter to Dietrich Mateschitz. Whether the billionaire ever read it is unknown, but it was the first contact between Leipzig football and Red Bull.

Gall even received a reply, politely declining the

Gall even received a reply, politely declining the request because Red Bull was not then involved in football projects.

Gall even received a reply, politely declining the request because Red Bull was not then involved in football projects. But he did not give up. He phoned Salzburg and ended up talking to Mateschitz’s assistant.

“Stay on the line, we’ll keep an eye on it,” she told him. Meanwhile Kölmel had smelled the roast: the costs of the Zentralstadion were threatening to run out of control. Acting for him, the nuclear physicist Dr Otto Schlörb once again approached Red Bull on behalf of FC Sachsen.

The club officials were touchy, insisting they had large, powerful fan scenes who had little in common with the supporters of Austrian drinks football. The Austrians had to rethink. Instead of a traditional German big-city club, they looked for a club tied to a large East German city but more malleable.

Eventually, unlike Gall, the sweating electrician, the physi...

Eventually, unlike Gall, the sweating electrician, the physicist Schlörb found his way into Salzburg in 2006.

Eventually, unlike Gall, the sweating electrician, the physicist Schlörb found his way into Salzburg in 2006. A discreet hotel in Berlin became the place where Kölmel and company presented Red Bull with a viable concept. On November 9, 2006 the bombshell exploded in Leipzig. Yet FC Sachsen, Lok and others all proved unwilling or unsuitable.

By September 2008 Red Bull had launched a new attempt, knowing they wanted a foothold in a top league in Germany. Sachsen Leipzig were out of the race, as were Lok. Then Red Bull still had one ace up its sleeve: SSV Markranstädt, from a town of just 15,000, willing to provide the starting point.

The rest is history. Only Wolfgang Petit, president of FC Eilenburg, was left annoyed, insisting they should have been the club where RB began.