"The second season in the Bundesliga is the toughest" – given that maxim, most pundits did not believe at the start of the season that RB Leipzig could repeat the feat of finishing second in the league. A prediction that appeared likely for many after the first matchday with a 2-0 defeat for Leipzig at Schalke. Once again, Ralph Hasenhüttl's team proved the opposite with seven of the following ten games ending in victory. Not always with the free-flowing football of the first season but often in the style of an absolutely top team – as in the game before the international break against Hannover 96 where they came from behind to win 2-1, putting them in second place the first time of the season and making them the main challenges to Bayern Munich. In the DFB Cup, RB lost out to Bayern on penalties in the second round. In the first Champions League campaign in the club's history, the Bulls are third on four points in the group with Besiktas, FC Porto and AS Monaco.
In accordance with the club philosophy, the RB squad is full of highly talented young players. Former Bayer 04 Pro Kevin Kampl, who left Leverkusen for Saxony in August, is one of the most experienced players in the team at the age of 27. The top star is, without doubt, Timo Werner. After a meteoric rise last season, the central striker has again been on target this term with six goals in nine league games and is now an essential part of the Germany team. There is a fair chance that Werner will not be the only Leipzig player in Joachim Löw's squad for the World Cup in Russia. Left back Marcel Halstenberg made his debut in last Friday's friendly against England and holding midfielder Diego Demme played his first international in the summer. Both players joined RB as not particularly rated second division pros and are therefore a good symbol of the rapid rise of the club. In Leipzig's 4-4-2 system, other players are responsible for the intricate work, in particular the exceptional technicians Emil Forsberg and Naby Keita. The latter is set to leave the club in the summer to join Liverpool, and both Forsberg and Werner are targets for top European clubs.
In addition to Leipzig players attracting attention from top European clubs, matches against those teams are currently the source of concern among the management. Hasenhüttl's players have struggled to reproduce domestic form in the Champions League, particularly in away games, and they have found it difficult in league games after European matches. That has not yet led to a drastic loss of points (three wins and a draw) but the high pressing and quick counter-attacking favoured by the Austrian head coach was less evident at the end of a long run of fixtures. As long as the points return does not suffer too much under the double workload, it could be a problem the management at Leipzig are happy to live with – also because they may well have to get used to that.
"We haven't reached the end yet we still have the feeling there's much more to come," said the RB coach Ralph Hasenhüttl iin a recent interview on the Leipzig club website and few in German football would argue against that. If the drinks company behind the club maintain their commitment then there is no target too high for RB Leipzig over the long term. The club not only has solid financial foundations but also as an excellent infrastructure. Many of the most important developments at the Red Bulls are long-term. The best example: Even the youngest youth teams at RB play with the same approach as the Bundesliga team so that players from the academy will be able to make the step up to the first team squad in the future.
Given the extra fixtures, it seems questionable for the young team to be able to go all the way to the top. Nevertheless, Leipzig are in good shape to play their part once again in the race for Champions League spots. it is quite possible they may finish runners-up again this term if key players like Forsberg and Werner stay fit. If they end the season in third or fourth place, everybody at RB would make the exception of accepting a minor setback.
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
Show moreTo all Bayer 04 fans: The Fanwelt will be closed all day next Monday 30 June. This is due to preparations for the change of kit supplier from Castore to New Balance on Tuesday 1 July.
Show moreThe Norway U23 international Julie Jorde has completed the move from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Brøndby IF. The twelve-time champions of Denmark have signed the midfielder on permanent terms after her loan move from the Bundesliga to Denmark in the winter.
Show moreIt is almost two years since Bayer 04 new signing Abdoulaye Faye first stepped foot into the BayArena as a player for the Swedish club BK Häcken in the opening match in the 2023/24 Europa League campaign. A day before his nineteenth birthday, the central defender did not play in the 4-0 win for the Werkself but it was "an incredible night" for him on 21 September 2023 as he explained in his first interview on bayer04.de. "I watched the players and saw the fans. I liked it." It was also the first European night early on in his career. He only joined the then champions of Sweden in the cold north of Europe from his home in Senegal a few weeks before that special moment. Bayer04.de profiles our new defender.
Show moreWelcome, Abdoulaye Faye. The 20-year-old Senegalese central defender joins Leverkusen from top-flight Swedish club BK Häcken. In his first interview he talks about his move to Bayer 04 and his targets with the Werkself.
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