Welcome to theScore’s weekly column on European football. During the club season, Anthony Lopopolo will uncover the biggest stories in the continent’s top leagues.
No amount of protest seems to deter RB Leipzig. Their greatest detractors have tried everything. They’ve whistled their every touch, hung insulting banners, and crossed out their logo. One of their matches was even interrupted by the sight of a severed bull’s head.
Few people in Germany want Red Bull’s football team to succeed. They see it as an intrusion on the good morals of their game. Leipzig, after all, aren’t owned by the fans. It isn’t a “club” in the truest sense of the word. Most Bundesliga sides follow the 50+1 rule, which grants majority ownership to fan groups. Meanwhile, Leipzig are run by a handful of executives with official ties to Red Bull. Their supporters are only ever paying customers.
But, if they’re corporate and plastic, then they’re also forward-thinking and modern in their approach. Both things can be true. Leipzig’s rise to the top is by no means a fairy tale – they cherry-pick players from sister club Red Bull Salzburg and source talent from a central scouting network – but they didn’t …read more