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RB Leipzig : Hate or Jealous?

The infamous tag of the most hated club in German football can be credited in RB Leipzig's name. The steep rise of the club from the lower divisions to the apex one can be attributed to the meticulous youth-centered policy of RasenBallsport Leipzig (not Red Bull Leipzig). This has done nothing to ease the heat received by the club from the German football lovers. We look into the short history of the club which has instilled a mixed bag of emotions in Germany.


                        It all started in 2009 when Red Bull bought the rights of a club based in East Germany , SSV Markranstadt. Red Bull were looking to buy a club in Germany to widen their marketing horizon, but weren't successful as buying a club in top tiers of german football is  against DFB regulations . The way the Austrian manufacturers  got around that is by buying a fifth division club based in Leipzig. . East Germany has been traditionally inferior to its western counterpart in most fields. This applies to the field of football as well.the People of east germany was yearning for first division football to be played on their soil. RB Leipzig did just that in a strategic and rapid way which may have angered the traditionalists.


   
The way RB Leipzig got around the 50+1 rule system, which formed the basis of german football has not done well with the fans. The bible of the german football is the 50+1 rules code which instructs a club to have the majority of voting rights with the fans of their respective clubs. The way in which they tweaked the system was by granting the portion of fans voting rights to red bull employees. They also charged exorbitant charges for membership proceeds which distanced the fans. The club which stands out for its prime supporter engagement system, Borussia Dortmund 140k members strong whereas RB Leipzig has 17 of which all of them are Red Bull employees. The annual membership fees of RB Leipzig stands at 25 times of that charged for the same in Bayern Munchen. Anyone willing to pay the fees cannot be assured of a membership as it can be turned down by the board. The hate received by the club reached the peak in the 2016-17 season when the away fans restrained themselves from attending Leipzig's home matches. A severed bull's head was also thrown into the ground during that season which received worldwide attention.



                    The way RB Leipzig climbed the ladder to the bundesliga should be appreciated. They have managed to achieve 4 promotions in 7 years. The sustainable model which gave rise to young guns like Joshua Kimmich, Timo Werner and Emil Forsberg is a lesson to be learnt by its counterparts. They have cared their system from being rundown by big-name signings. The way players like Nabi Keita and Joshua Kimmich attracting high bids might have joyed the board members.  The playmaking genius of Emil Forsberg for Sweden in the recently concluded world cup is sure to attract bids from the heavyweights.


                
                          As the new bundesliga season is set to begin in the coming weeks, RB Leipzig will be right on the heels of bayern munich. Putting an end to bayern munich  in bundesliga will be the next step in their fairytale. Under ralf rangnick, they also will be hoping to perform well in europe.

         



                 

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