‘Presence, intensity, aura’: How Marco Rose immediately made his mark at RB Leipzig
On Tuesday, Marco Rose was in Salzburg watching his former Red Bull team draw with AC Milan in the Champions League, while RB Leipzig were simultaneously losing 4-1 to Shakhtar Donetsk, sealing Domenico Tedesco’s fate.
By Wednesday, the 45-year-old had flown by private jet to Leipzig, where he quickly agreed a two-year contract. By Thursday, he had been unveiled and had taken his first training session.
On Friday, he took a second, and on Saturday, he watched his new charges stroll to a comfortable 3-0 win over his former club Borussia Dortmund.
“The last few days were stressful but I’m satisfied that the lads implemented what we talked about so quickly,” he said post-match. “We were present, we were intense, we had an aura, we took the stadium with us.”
Captain Willi Orban’s 12-yard header, Dominik Szoboszlai’s screamer and Amadou Haidara’s late tap-in will make the headlines, but RB Leipzig’s matchwinners, and those chiefly responsible for carrying out Rose’s matchplan, were to be found in midfield.
Physical Austrian duo Xaver Schlager and Konrad Laimer dominated the center of the park, bullying Julian Brandt and Jude Bellingham with their aggressive pressing, tough tackling and quick vertical passes towards Timo Werner – a clear return the Red Bull footballing identity which Rose knows so well, having coached at youth levels through the RB network.
“Of course, we spoke about the fact that, at RB, we stand for a certain type of football,” he explained. “We know that we have huge quality in pressing and transition. The lads have that in the tank, they know how it works, they’ve all done it before, they come from clubs where they’ve played like that.”
It is little surprise Schlager and Laimer, two of several players in the squad with an RB Salzburg history, stood out under a former RB Salzburg coach.
Konrad Laimer (left) and Xaver Schlager (center) kept Marco Reus (right) and co quiet in Leipzig on Saturday.
CEO Mintzlaff squandering competitive advantages
The many critics of RB Leipzig in Germany often claim that the club’s unique access to Red Bull’s system of farm teams distorts the competition.
But despite that competitive advantage – and the significant financial backing from the Austrian energy drink manufacturer – it still took until May this year for RB Leipzig to win their first major trophy, the German Cup, while the club is still to mount a serious Bundesliga title challenge.
Which is why attention had recently turned to chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff, whose failure to appoint a sporting director since Markus Krösche’s departure 16 months ago had seen he himself take on a greater role in recruitment, with mixed results.
Following Julian Nagelsmann’s departure to Bayern Munich, Jesse Marsch ticked all the Red Bull boxes, but his back-to-basics 4-2-2-2 was a step backwards for the more rounded squad Nagelsmann had bequeathed him. Still, Mintzlaff refrained from firing Marsch until December 2021, with Leipzig nine points off the Champions League places.
Tedesco steadied the ship and won the cup, thanks in part to clever tactical adjustments when a goal and a man down in the final against Freiburg, earning him eternal gratitude among RB’s fan base. “Thanks to Domenico and a miracle, the cup is finally ours,” read a banner in the stands. “Thanks Tedesco!”
But when Tedesco failed to take that momentum into the new season – “resting on his laurels with too much yesterday and not enough today,” as Kicker magazine put it this week – Mintzlaff was clearly agitated.
“It’s a shit start with just two points from two games,” he riled on television after Tedesco’s team began the season with disappointing draws against Stuttgart (1-1) and Cologne(2-2).
“We expected to win those two games, with our squad that has to be the expectation. But we didn’t give 100%, and 95% isn’t enough.”
Marco Rose’s home advantage
This time, he didn’t hesitate, sounding out Rose after the 4-0 defeat away at Eintracht Frankfurt last week ahead of his appointment this week.
The search for a permanent sporting director is also gathering pace, with Mintzlaff’s courting of former Borussia Mönchengladbach operator Max Eberl an open secret, and one that will not have made the coaching position any less attractive for Rose.
“Let’s not kid ourselves: everyone knows about my relationship with Max,” said Rose of his former Gladbach colleague who took a break from football earlier this year citing mental burnout. “I visited him in Zürich recently just to see how he is. I think we could work well together.”
Given the means at their disposal, it’s fair to argue that RB Leipzig have underachieved – largely a result of unsuitable coaching appointments for which Mintzlaff should take responsibility. But he may have struck gold with Rose, who has immediately settled into life back in his hometown.
“Leipzig is my home, I identify with it,” Rose told DW. “But when you’re a coach in your hometown, you have a particular responsibility, which isn’t always easy.
“But I’ve made that choice knowingly, because I feel at home here, I like the people here, and I’ve taken over a great team.”
A team which brushed aside Borussia Dortmund with ease on Saturday.
Edited by Matt Ford