by Oliver Trust
BERLIN, April 18 (Xinhua) – RB Leipzig has changed from a supplier to Europe’s big clubs to a title-hoping refuge for its stars.
The current success under the new coach Domenico Tedesco seems to have made several coveted players like Christopher Nkunku, Dani Olmo, Andre Silva and Dominik Szoboszlai change and stay.
The development of former RB stars such as Timo Werner (Chelsea), Naby Keita (Liverpool) and Marcel Sabitzer (Bayern Munich) stands as a warning example.
All three left with ambitious goals and have meanwhile lost their position as regulars in their new teams. Being placed on the bench is said to jeopardize their participation in the Qatar World Cup 2022.
The 24-year-old French national team player Nkunku, on the Paris Saint-German list, and the 23-year-old Spanish national team player Olmo, courted by Barcelona, are reported to have skipped plans not to lose ground in their national teams.
Portuguese national team player Andre Silva and Croatian national team player Josko Gvardiol follow similar strategies.
In addition, the prospect of titles has increased the club’s attractiveness.
Under coach Tedesco, Leipzig has developed into the German Bundesliga’s hour-long after the winter break and the chances of winning the first title since the club was founded 13 years ago have never been better.
The team is in a promising way to qualify again for next season’s Champions League campaign after winning third place after a 1-0 victory in Leverkusen.
The harvest season seems close after reaching the Euro League semi-final against Glasgow Rangers and the last four duels in the German Cup against Union Berlin on Wednesday.
Swedish national team player Emil Forsberg told about good vibrations around the team.
“We have fun, the style of play is perfect to meet the players’ wishes and we are successful,” said the 30-year-old.
Twice, RB ended up as second in the national league. Twice they lost the German cup final against Bayern and Dortmund. In 2019, Leipzig lost the semi-final of the Champions League against Paris.
The inconsistency that shaped Tedesco’s predecessor Jesse Marsch’s era now seems to be a memory only thanks to the successful changes made by the German-Italian coach.
The 36-year-old expects a manageable squad size in addition to well-balanced tactics. Leipzig formally “wild style of play” during the March changed to a more sophisticated and mature strategy.
A balanced squad quality means that Tedesco can change the line-up without losing efficiency. “We can handle the challenging tasks that way,” Tedesco said.
Ahead of the semi-final against Union, Leipzig is facing its third week in a row with two energy-intensive matches at a time.
It pays to have quality on the bench, commented the Hungarian national team player Peter Gulacsi.
Source: sn.dk