The Raging Bull in Europe!

The commercialization of football and the gargantuan amounts of money seen in the beautiful game have been matters of considerable debate among football fans. Many established European powerhouses have often accused their nouveau riche opponents of buying titles with considerable support from their wealthy owners, who are willing to pump ludicrous amounts into the club. Sometimes, as in the case of Portsmouth or Monaco, the project fails, while sometimes, like with PSG and Chelsea, one encounters a new giant in the making. The big-money contracts coming in from China might make a few heads turn and take notice but none of them can quite match the furore caused by Dietrich Mateschitz and his global energy drink company, RedBull.

RedBull's burgeoning football empire

18YardBox has a closer look at RedBull’s growing football empire and the surrounding controversy

RedBull Salzburg

SV Austria Salzburg

The drastic change in colours

After successfully incorporating a Formula 1 team named Redbull Racing in 2005, Mateschitz turned his focus towards football in 2005 in his home country of Austria. RedBull acquired SV Austria Salzburg, a team based in Wals-Siezenheim. The acquisition resulted in significant controversy when RedBull renamed the club, changed its colours from the traditional violet and white to the current Red and White and changed the crest in order to incorporate the Redbull logo. In a move that further irked the SV Austria faithful, RedBull claimed on the club website that the club was founded in 2005. The move was, however, reversed after the intervention of the Austrian FA. After futile negotiations with the new owners and months of protests, the traditional fans formed a new club, SV Austria Salzburg.

Austrian Domination 

Celebrating yet another double in 2015-16

RedBull’s riches ensured RB Salzburg access to the best coaching staff and world-class training facilities. Under the tutelage of Giovani Trapatoni, Salzburg captured the Austrian Bundesliga in 2006-07 after a barren spell of 10 years. Dutchman Ricardo Moniz was appointed as the Global Director of youth development who oversaw the academies in 4 different continents. After a series of sackings, Moniz took over as the manager of RB Salzburg in 2011 with a mandate to integrate the youth academy products into the first team. In 2011-12, he became the first manager in the Austrian league to complete the double before resigning after altercations with the board. Moniz was replaced by the effervescent German, Roger Schmidt who led RB Salzburg to their second title in 3 years. With the experienced Ralf Rangnick in charge of club’s style of play, training methods and transfer policy, Salzburg started scouting and poaching talented young players across Europe who could be groomed to be superstars of the future. In came the likes of Sadio Mane, Kevin Kampl, Valon Berisha, Jonathan Soriano, Naby Keita, Takumi Minamino and Alan who cemented Salzburg’s dominance in Austria. Despite their domestic success, European success evaded the team whose best result was a Round of 16 finish in the Europa League during the 2013-14 season.

The RedBull era:

Season	Austrian Bundesliga	Austrian Cup
2006-07	Champions	-
2007-08	Runners-up	-
2008-09	Champions	-
2009-10	Champions	-
2010-11	Runners-up	-
2011-12	Champions	Champions
2012-13	Runners-up	-
2013-14	Champions	Champions
2014-15	Champions	Champions
2015-16	Champions	Champions

Is Austria lucrative enough?

In search of greener pastures

Many of Salzburg’s young Turks have departed for more competitive and lucrative leagues in Europe and Asia. Sadio Mane (to Southampton), Kevin Kampl (to Borussia Dortmund), Alan (to Guanghzou Evergrande) are some of the stars that have gone to bigger and better things. Critics would say RedBull Salzburg has been a big fish in a little pond and their owner has made no qualms about it.

"It would be naive to think we could have kept a Kampl or Ramalho here. Our concept is as clear as two plus two equals four." –Dietrich Mateschitz

Salzburg has managed to identify talents and bring them through their academy or feeder teams and subsequently sell for a high fee before replacing the departed players in a similar fashion. This has helped them establish domestic dominance while keeping the wage bill in check. The modus operandi is similar to that of Portuguese giants Benfica or Porto. However, with a squad burgeoning with young and ambitious players, domestic success, especially in Austria, is not enough. Salzburg seems to have hit a glass ceiling as many players don’t find the Austrian league as a lucrative platform to showcase their talent and challenge Europe’s elite. If RedBull were to compete with European powerhouses, a move to neighbouring Germany was the logical step.

Rassenball Sport Leipzig

The East-west divide

No East German team in the Bundesliga since 2009

Post World War 2, West and East Germany had their own football leagues and traditional giants. The West had Bayern Munich, Hamburg, Wolfsburg and Borussia Monchengladbach while East Germany had FC Magdeburg, Carl Zeiss Jena, FC Union Berlin and Dynamo Dresden. Post Reunification, East German teams struggled to compete financially against the mighty West German clubs. In matter of a few years, all East German star players were seen playing for Western German clubs. The lack of financial strength and draining of top talent caused nearly all top Eastern German clubs to be relegated to the lower divisions. Most East German teams continue to languish in the lower leagues. Only four teams from East Germany have reached the Bundesliga out of the 38 that have played in the top tier of the German league system since the 1993-94 season. With a rich history of football and citizens hungry for top level football, Leipzig welcomed RedBull with open arms.

SSV Markranstadt

The bovine abomination of a crest

Previously a fifth-tier team called SSV Markranstädt, the club’s licence was acquired in 2009 by Red Bull, who promptly rebranded their acquisition by changing their name, crest and kit before beginning their quick ascent through the divisions. A deeper understanding of the ethos of German football is required to understand why this move was so controversial. German football has always prided itself on community involvement in the game. In order to prevent the commercialisation of the game and to keep the fans invested with the club, Bundesliga has the ‘50+1’rule which warrants that 50% plus one share of the club’s shares be owned by fans or supporters’ association. RedBull did not break the rule but violated the spirit of the rule by charging exorbitant membership fees (10 times that of Bayern Munich) and ensuring that shares are held by Redbull employees or agents. Even the name RassenBall Leipzig is a clever way to circumvent DFB rules which prevent commercial exploitation of club names. These under-handed tactics have quickly made RB Leipzig one of the most hated teams in Germany.

The Fallout

Some of the profanities on display in a game against Hoffenheim

Rival fans view RBL as nothing but a RedBull proxy for marketing energy drinks. Dynamo Dresden fans had notoriously thrown a severed bull’s head during a League game. Union Berlin's matchday programme contained a page on the history of bull farming rather than one about RB Leipzig. Before a recent match at Bayer Leverkusen home fans threw paint at the Leipzig team bus. Certain Borussia Dortmund fans boycotted the game at the Red Bull Arena instead preferring to attend their U-23 team’s home game. Inspite of the protests, RBL has their own set of supporters, not least those East German locals who have been starved of any kind of success since VfB Leipzig were relegated in 1994 and have warmly embraced their new club.

Ralf Rangnick – The Architect of RB Leipzig

The Ralf and Ralph show: Rangnick (left) with Hasenhuttl 

After promotion into the 4^th division, Leipzig struggled to gain promotion to the 3. Liga. The club appointed Ralf Rangnick as the new sporting director. Under his charge, RBL secured back to back promotion from the 4^th division to the 2^nd division of German football. Armed with Redbull’s 100mn Euro transfer kitty, Rangnick proceeded to sign the likes of Joshua Kimmich, Yussuf Poulsen, Anthony Jung, David Selke and Emil Forsberg from clubs in Germany and smaller leagues in Europe. Rangnick has a blanket rule of not signing players over the age of 24.

The future is here and it is now

After RBL failed to sign a manager in 2014-15, Rangnick took over as the first team manager. A former manager of Stuttgart, Hannover 96, Hoffenheim and Schalke, Rangnick is an innovative tactician known to implement the frenetic pressing game that has since come to define the game in Germany. He would describe his playing style as:

"Aggressive forward defending and pressing. Playing in private possession and directly to the front, lateral and back passes are rather not so much in demand... The aim is to develop teams, no soloists."

After Leipzig’s promotion to the Bundesliga, Rangnick handed the over reigns to Ralph Hasenhuttl. Nicknamed the Alpine Klopp, Hasenhuttl has developed a reputation of an overachiever with his previous club, Ingolstadt. A shrewd tactician and master motivator, Hasenhuttl is the right man for a squad full of young, raw talent with plenty to prove and a lot to learn.

The systemic demolition of Salzburg

When RedBull were in talks of setting up RB Leipzig, Redbull claimed that what happens in Saxony would not impact its operations in Salzburg.

Will he keep his word or has he broken it already?

Dietrich Mateschitz said, "What happens in Leipzig does not have any effect on Salzburg. When there are two clubs, one in Germany and one in Austria, the strength of each league determines where the main focus lies. Salzburg will always have a team that is so strong that it can compete in the league for the title and play internationally. This should remain so."

End of the Salzburg Project: Oscar Garcia at his wits end

However, Leipzig’s continued progress and the potential for growth in Germany has seen a mass exodus of Salzburg’s brightest talents to Germany. In a matter of 3 windows, 9 players from RB Salzburg switched to the sister entity in Leipzig with the French defender, Dayot Upamecano being the latest to switch allegiances. This move has caused a strong resentment among RB Salzburg fans and head Oscar Garcia who has spoken out against the step motherly treatment meted out to his club. RB Salzburg fans have also sung chants against their favoured cousins in Germany. For a club on the cusp of breaking into Europe’s elite competition, the feeder club status is seen as an insulting step back. Some RB Salzburg players have also spoken out against this 'injustice' done to RB Salzburg.

Martin Hinterreger preferred to sign for Augsburg than betray RB Salzburg

“The way in which Leipzig is destroying Salzburg is not nice to see. I find it a shame that we have two different clubs. Yet everything is directed towards Leipzig. Everything is for their benefit, while Salzburg are ignored. The Leipziger simply take what they need. Salzburg are never able to build a real team.” -  Martin Hinteregger.

Is RBL the big bad wolf they’re made out to be?

Inspite of all the hatred and criticism, has RB Leipzig destroyed the beautiful game and made the club nothing more than an obscene billboard for bovine branded energy drinks? In terms of ruining the ethos of the game, RBL has done far less damage than Chelsea or the sheikhs that run Man City and PSG. RBL’s transfer expenses were more than all other 2. Bundesliga teams combined but were commensurate with a team of their ambition. The absence of marquee names in the squad is yet another encouraging sign of the club’s mindset. Even after being promoted to the Bundesliga, RBL invested in a talented youngster like Oliver Burke from Nottingham Forest rather than an established star. Unlike some of the giants of the league which are known to sign players from direct rivals on their financial might, RBL’s strategy of signing young players from around the world and moulding them into finished stars is commendable. The average age of the first team which is currently 2^nd in the Bundesliga is only 23 years. Instead of languishing in the reserves or perennially being on loan (like most talented youngsters for top English clubs like Chelsea), Redbull has given them a project to believe in and fight for.

Leipzig's brigade: 2nd in the Bundesliga after 17 matches

RBL is providing opportunities to youngsters in East Germany to make a mark in the game through their youth system. Critics might point out that in their entire first-team squad last season, RBL had only two players who came from East Germany, and only one from Leipzig but it is noteworthy that the German national team has only one East German (Toni Kroos) in its current squad. The question remains whether Red Bull’s strategy can provide a long-term solution for the former East Germany’s football landscape, which was ravaged by lack of funds and the opportunistic scouts of West German clubs for the past 20 years.

For some RB Leipzig is the shot in the arm East German Football needed

The rapid and rather alien commercialisation of football in Germany isn’t strictly restricted to RBL. Over the past decade there are a few instances of German clubs finding a sugar daddy to finance their title challenge against the mighty Bavarians of Munich. Before RB Leipzig, Hoffenheim’s rise from an amateur club to a Bundesliga team on the back of SAP co-founder, Dietmar Hopp’s financial support was criticised for the club’s lack of tradition and a proper fan base as the club is from a village of just 3,300 inhabitants. Wolfburg (owned by Volkswagen) and Bayer Leverkuesen (owned by Pharma giant, Bayer) are also subject to constant criticism for their corporate backing.

Broadcasting Revenues: The bone of contention

Despite being one of Europe’s biggest leagues, the Bundesliga isn’t able to generate TV viewership revenue at the same level as the Premier League or the La Liga. The main reason for this lack of interest in the league is the domination of Bayern Munich and the perceived lack of any genuine contenders. The introduction of Red Bull Leipzig is a welcome addition to a league which has fast become Bayern Munich vs the rest of Germany. Any form of competition adds value and prestige to the league and RB Leipzig’s challenge will only help the Bundesliga and its revenue generation capabilities in the long run.

With rumours afloat of RedBull trying to acquire a club in England, the footballing world can only wait and watch what this energy drink giant has in store for European football.

Written by, 

Pranav Shenoy

(@Devilshenoy93)

Pranav is a contributor/ writer for 18Yardbox