“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.\n\nBig 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.
