The name ‘RB Leipzig’ remains a red rag for most hardcore German fans, but the controversial Bundesliga club is winning over mainstream supporters, and rightly so, says Michael Ballack.
RB Leipzig are second only to Bayern Munich in the German top flight and on course to qualify directly for the group stages of next season’s Champions League.
They are the only club from a city in former East Germany currently in the Bundesliga.
Founded in 2009, when Red Bull took over a German Football League (DFL) licence, they are by far the youngest club in Germany’s top flight.
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Backed by the energy drinks giants, RB Leipzig resisted the urge to buy big-name stars for their first season, snapping up young talent to nurture — with impressive results.
Playing eye-catching football, their young squad opened the club’s first season at the top level with a Bundesliga-record 13-match unbeaten run.
They picked off established names like Borussia Dortmund, Hamburg, Schalke and Wolfsburg in the process.
But they have received anything but a warm welcome in Germany’s top tier.
Fans of rival clubs have shown given them the cold shoulder —or indeed worse — due to the perceived commercialism they are seen to represent.
In August, a severed bull’s head was thrown from the stands during a German Cup game in Dresden.
In September, home fans staged a sit-down protest in front of the RB team bus which meant kick-off had to be delayed before their game at Cologne.
And in February, hooligans in Dortmund attacked Leipzig supporters, including families with children, which led to the hosts being fined by the German Football Association (DFB).
