• Dear Guest, Please note that adult content is not permitted on this forum. We have had our Google ads disabled at times due to some posts that were found from some time ago. Please do not post adult content and if you see any already on the forum, please report the post so that we can deal with it. Adult content is allowed in the glory hole - you will have to request permission to access it. Thanks, scara

Champions League 2019/20 - Round of 16: RB Leipzig


For those wondering... this is from a couple of years ago. Plastic team.




RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg can both play in the Champions League next season, Uefa has confirmed.

Both clubs are associated with the energy-drink maker Red Bull and Uefa prohibits clubs with strong links from playing in Europe in the same season.

But Uefa ruled "no individual or legal entity had a decisive influence over more than one club".

Bundesliga runners-up RB Leipzig and Austrian champions Salzburg both qualified for the 2017-18 competition.

Leipzig were founded in 2009 with backing from the company and won four promotions in seven seasons, before finishing second in their first ever top-flight season.

Red Bull bought Austria Salzburg in 2005, renaming it, but following a restructuring it no longer has a controlling stake and merely sponsors the club.

Uefa does not allow any two clubs competing in European competition to share the same owner.

In cases where that happens, priority is given to a team who are champions of their country, meaning that Leipzig would have missed out.

But Uefa's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) found there was no breach of Article 5 concerning the integrity of the competition.
 
Also of interest:


There was a lot to admire in Jürgen Klopp's words about Takumi Minamino, but none more so than his ode to the Red Bull football group. “It’s not hard to see why Salzburg is a favoured destination for players with real talent and hunger," he told the club website. "From our experiences dealing with, and facing, Salzburg on and off the pitch in recent months, their reputation as a benchmark modern European club will only grow."

It is some tribute; it is also probably part-charm offensive after the Austrian champions have been so gracious to nurture three of Liverpool's forward line since 2014. A social media post by Red Bull Salzburg's official account depicted this unofficial agreement, picturing Sadio Mané, Naby Keita and now Minamino in half-Salzburg, half-Liverpool shirts. Rumours the Red Bull energy drink is to replace tap water on Merseyside are so far unfounded.

There is no doubt a strong professional relationship exists between Liverpool and both Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig, the two major teams under the Red Bull banner. This dates back to the summer of 2017, when a deal was struck which allowed Keita to remain in Leipzig for 12 months before moving to Anfield the following season; there will also be recognition of how well Mané developed in Austria with Salzburg before moving to the Premier League, and Southampton, in 2014. The Minamino deal, which saw Liverpool exploit the £7.25million ($9million) release clause, was also founded in the strong relations between Michael Edwards and Salzburg sporting director Christoph Freund.
 
Also interesting, I think:

Before investing in Leipzig, Red Bull GmbH, led by co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz, searched three and a half years for a suitable location for an investment in German football.[4] Besides Leipzig, the company also considered a location in West Germany and explored cities such as Hamburg, Munich and Düsseldorf.[5]

The company made its first attempt to enter the German football scene in 2006. On the advice of Franz Beckenbauer, a personal friend of Dietrich Mateschitz, the company decided to invest in Leipzig.[6][7][8][9][10] The local football club FC Sachsen Leipzig, successor to the former East German champions BSG Chemie Leipzig, had for years been in financial difficulties.[11][12] Red Bull GmbH drew up plans to invest up to 50 million euros in the club. The company planned a takeover, with a change of team colours and of club name. Involved in the arrangements was film entrepreneur Michael Kölmel, sponsor of FC Sachsen Leipzig and owner of the Zentralstadion.[11][13] By 2006, FC Sachsen Leipzig played in the Oberliga, by then the fourth tier in the German football league system. Playing in the fourth tier, the club had to undergo the German Football Association (DFB) licensing procedure. Red Bull GmbH and the club were close to a deal, but the plans were vetoed by the DFB, who rejected the proposed new club name and feared too much influence from the company.[11][14][15] After months of fan protests, which deteriorated into violence, the company officially abandoned the plans.[16]

Red Bull GmbH then turned to West Germany. The company made contact with cult club FC St. Pauli, known for its left leaning supporters, and met representatives of the club to discuss a sponsor deal. The supporters of FC St. Pauli had only a short time before participated in protests against the company's takeover of SV Austria Salzburg. Once it became clear to the Hamburg side that the company had plans far beyond conventional sponsoring, it immediately ended the contact, and the question never even made it to the club management.[5] The company then took contact with TSV 1860 Munich. Negotiations began behind closed doors, but the club was not interested in an investment and ended the contact.[17][18]

In 2007, Red Bull GmbH made plans to invest in Fortuna Düsseldorf, a traditional club with more than 100 years of history.[19] The plans became public, it was known that the company wanted to acquire more than 50 percent of the shares and rumors spread that the company wanted to rename the club "Red Bull Düsseldorf" or similar. The plans were immediately met with wild protests from club supporters.[5] As with FC Sachsen Leipzig, the plans also ran into legal difficulties. The statutes of the DFB did not allow a change of club name for advertising purposes or an external investor to obtain a majority of votes.[19][20][21] Eventually, the plans were clearly rejected by club members.[5][18] The company turned back to East Germany.[5]
 
Leipzig was considered a most favorable place for an investment. The potential for establishing a new club in Leipzig seemed huge. The city had a rich history in football, being the meeting place for the founding of the DFB and the home of the first German national football champions, VfB Leipzig.[4] During the GDR, local teams such as 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig and its rival, BSG Chemie Leipzig, played at the highest level of the East German football league system, even on international level. The current state of football was, however, poor. No team from the city had played in the Bundesliga since 1994,[22] and no team had played in a professional league since 1998.[5] The two best teams would soon both play in the Oberliga, and local football was plagued by fan violence.[4] The city hungered for top level football.[23][24] Leipzig had a population of around 500,000 inhabitants. The city thus had a considerable economic strength and fan potential. At the same time, there were no Bundesliga clubs within a wide area from the city, which further strengthened the possibility to attract sponsors and fans.

In Leipzig, exemplary infrastructure could also be found. The city had a large airport, motorway connections and most importantly: a large modern football stadium.[25][26] The Zentralstadion was a former 2006 FIFA World Cup venue and the second largest football stadium in the east of Germany, after the Olympiastadion in Berlin.[27]

An investment in a club playing in one of the top divisions in Germany would have been a costly affair. From previous experiences, the company knew that the existing traditions of such club would be a disadvantage.[28] It also knew that an investment in a club playing in one of the top divisions would meet legal difficulties. Such investment would thus be risky.[29][30] Instead, the company found that a new established club, designed for the company, would be the better option for an investment.[18][25] In the beginning of 2009, Red Bull GmbH contacted the Saxony Football Association (SFV), to find out about the procedure to establish a new club in Saxony.[16]

A new established club would need teams and a playing right. If it did not acquire a playing right from another club, it would have to start in the Kreisklasse.[31] The company searched for a club playing in the Oberliga,[16] since 2008 the fifth tier in the German football league system and therefore no longer subject to the DFB licensing system.[14] By proposal from Michael Kölmel,[23] the company found SSV Markranstädt, a small club from a village thirteen kilometers west of Leipzig.[32] The club was positive to enter a partnership with a global company.[29] Its chairman Holger Nussbaum wanted to secure the club's long term finances and designed a plan to engage Red Bull GmbH. Holger Nussbaum presented his plan for Michael Kölmel, who saw his chance and decided to join.[4][29] Assisted by Michael Kölmel, Red Bull GmbH began negotiations with SSV Markranstädt.[4] Only five weeks after the first contact, SSV Markranstädt had agreed to sell its playing right for the Oberliga to Red Bull GmbH.[32] The cost has not been disclosed, but SSV Markranstädt is believed to have received a compensation of 350,000 euro.[26][33]
 
https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2589547.html

"As of the round of 16, a club may register a maximum of three new eligible players for the remaining matches in the current competition. Such registration must be completed by 3 February 2020 (24:00 CET) at the latest. This deadline cannot be extended.

Any or all of the players from the above quota of three may have been fielded for another club in the qualifying phase, play-offs or group stage of the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League."

We now have 19 non homegrown in our squad with the additions of Bergwijn, Fernandes and Vorm with only Eriksen leaving.

So we need to drop 2 of the 19

Alderweireld
Aurier
Bergwijn
Davies
Dier
Fernandes
Gazzaniga
Heung-Min
Lamela
Lloris
Lo Celso
Ndombele
Moura
Parrott
Sanchez
Sissoko
Vertonghen
Vorm
Wanyama

It will be two of Parrott, Vorm or Wanyama.

We have only 3 homegrown players (maximum of 8)
Alli
Kane
Winks

And the usual u21 players (they need to have been at the club for 2 years) that don't need to be registered (only 4 to get minutes this season)
Foyth
Sessegnon
Skipp
Tanganga
 
https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2589547.html

"As of the round of 16, a club may register a maximum of three new eligible players for the remaining matches in the current competition. Such registration must be completed by 3 February 2020 (24:00 CET) at the latest. This deadline cannot be extended.

Any or all of the players from the above quota of three may have been fielded for another club in the qualifying phase, play-offs or group stage of the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League."

We now have 19 non homegrown in our squad with the additions of Bergwijn, Fernandes and Vorm with only Eriksen leaving.

So we need to drop 2 of the 19

Alderweireld
Aurier
Bergwijn
Davies
Dier
Fernandes
Gazzaniga
Heung-Min
Lamela
Lloris
Lo Celso
Ndombele
Moura
Parrott
Sanchez
Sissoko
Vertonghen
Vorm
Wanyama

It will be two of Parrott, Vorm or Wanyama.

We have only 3 homegrown players (maximum of 8)
Alli
Kane
Winks

And the usual u21 players (they need to have been at the club for 2 years) that don't need to be registered (only 4 to get minutes this season)
Foyth
Sessegnon
Skipp
Tanganga

I'd leave out Vorm and Wanyama.

Beyond this season, assuming Wanyama leaves and Parrott becomes qualified as a U21 then the problem eases. Clarke will also help.

That said, we're right on the limit so would be helpful if we could find an English CB to replace Jan or English DM
 
A draw tonight after being two nil down but they've definitely hit the yips after the winter break. I still think that we'll have our work cut out to get through though.

Having the PL break in February is just stupid. The weeks following the FA cup 3rd round would have been perfect.
 
Back