RB Leipzig affiliated teams
RB Leipzig has several affiliated teams, including a reserve team, women's team, and junior and academy teams. Reserve team. History. The first reserve team was formed out of the second team of SSV Markranstädt and played its inaugural season in the 2009–10 Bezirksliga Leipzig. The team finished their season in first place and won promotion to the 2010–11 Sachsenliga. However, as part of the deal with SSV Markranstädt, the team was returned to SSV Markranstädt after the 2009–10 season, and would then go on to play the 2010–11 Sachsenliga as their new first team. In  order to replace the reserve team and to avoid having to begin with its reserve team from the bottom of the German football league system, RB Leipzig entered a partnership with ESV Delitzsch from the city of Delitzsch in the northwest of Saxony. RB Leipzig adopted the first team of ESV Delitzsch as its new reserve team and purchased its playing right for the Berzirksliga Leipzig. The team again finished first place in the Bezirksliga Leipzig, and won promotion to the 2011–12 Sachsenliga, where it would face the first team of SSV Markranstädt. With the impending bankruptcy of FC Sachsen  Leipzig, who eventually folded in June 2011, RB Leipzig considered purchasing its playing right for the Oberliga for its reserve team. Despite this initial interest, Leipzig later withdrew their offer. A condition for the acquisition was that at least 51 percent of the players in the team must be integrated in the new club, but RB Leipzig instead chose to develop its own reserve team. Tino Vogel was appointed new head coach for the 2011–12 season. The team was also joined by senior defender Ingo Hertzsch, who had left the professional team. The reserve team finished its first season in  the Sachsenliga in fourth place. The league was instead won by SSV Markranstädt, who recaptured a playing right for the Oberliga. The team improved and finished the 2012–13 Sachsenliga season in third place. The team then managed to secure a first-place finish in 2013–14 Sachsenliga, and finally won promotion to the NOFV-Oberliga Süd, after three seasons in the Sachsenliga. Forward Tom Nattermann scored 32 goals during the season, finishing the 2013–14 Sachsenliga as the league top goal scorer by a wide margin. The 2014–15 season included opponents such as SSV Markranstädt and 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig, but the  reserve team successfully adapted to the Oberliga and came to dominate its league. The team finished the 2014–15 NOFV-Oberliga Süd in first place, and immediately won promotion to the Regionalliga Nordost. Forward Tom Nattermann scored 26 goals during the season, only beaten by Jan Nezmar from FC Oberlausitz Neugersdorf. Before the 2015–16 season, almost half of the players from the previous season left the team, including top goal scorer Tom Nattermann, who left for FC Erzgebirge Aue. The team was instead joined by several new players, almost all coming from the club's own ranks, of which six players  were brought up from the A-junior team. The reserve team finished its first season in the Regionalliga in 11th place. Incumbent B-junior coach Robert Klauß was appointed new head coach for the 2016–17 season, replacing Tino Vogel, who had led the reserve team from the Bezirksliga Leipzig to the Regionalliga Nordost. RB Leipzig veteran Tino Vogel continued his career at the club as a scout in the area of central Germany, and his former assistant coach Olaf Holetschek continued as a scout in junior football. The team was also again joined by several players from the A-junior  team, as well as 19-year-old talent Dominik Martinović from the Bayern Munich A-junior team. The young recruits resulted in the reserve team certainly having the youngest team in the Regionalliga before the 2016–17 season. The average age stood at only 19 years and 5 months in June 2016. RB Leipzig disbanded the U23 team after the 2016–17 season, while keeping the U19 and U17 squads. Stadium. The reserve team played its home matches at the Stadion am Bad in Markranstädt. The stadium is the traditional home ground of SSV Markanstädt, and was therefore shared with the club . In 2013, RB Leipzig made plans to build its own amateur stadium. The first plans envisioned a new stadium with 5,000 seats at the RB Leipzig training center at Cottaweg. However, because of the limited space at Cottaweg and the complicated approval procedures, these plans were scrapped. The club instead aimed to build the stadium near the Sportschule Egidius Braun of the Saxony Football Association (SFV) at Abtaundorf. Women's football. History. Having earlier been committed in women's junior football, RB Leipzig entered women's football in 2016. The club initially planned a partnership in women's football with  Leipziger FC 07, to compete with a joint team in the fourth tier Landesliga Sachsen. The partnership was meant to last for one year, after which RB Leipzig was to continue as an independent team, which would also be reserved the right to advance. RB Leipzig and Leipziger FC 07 were given a playing right for the 2016–17 Landesliga Sachsen on a wild card by the Saxony Football Association (SFV), but only a few weeks before the start of the season, the partnership was ended and RB Leipzig announced that it was to compete as an independent team. The first  squad was set up by 17 players from FFV Leipzig, five talents from the RB Leipzig women's junior teams and one player from the reserve team of FF USV Jena. The team was trained by Sebastian Popp, former head coach of women's football team SV Eintracht Leipzig-Süd. The SFV has expected the RB Leipzig women's team, with the state training centre for women's and girls' football, to advance from Landesliga Sachsen to Bundesliga within 3 to 5 years. The RB Leipzig women's team played its first competitive match on 7 August 2016 in the  first round of the 2016–17 Saxony Cup away against SV Johannstadt 90. RB Leipzig recorded a 7–0 victory, and advanced to the next round of the cup. The entry the RB Leipzig women's team in the 2016–17 Landesliga Sachsen (effectively skipping the 5th tier), came with criticism from several clubs in the league. The criticisms were heard, and after a round-table discussion with other clubs and the SFV, Leipzig offered to play the season starting with seven youth players each game. The SFV also ordered the first three games to be replayed and disqualified Leipzig from the Saxony  Cup. Eventually Leipzig won the league with four matchdays left of the season. The RB Leipzig women's football team play its home matches at the Sportanlage Gontardweg, which is also the location of the state training centre for women's and girls football of the SFV, taken over by RB Leipzig from FFV Leipzig in July 2016. Junior football. RB Leipzig had 17 men and women's junior teams with 250 players, including the Reserve team as of 2015. 25 players were youth nationals by the turn of the year. Training and matches are conducted at several grounds in  Leipzig. The main ground is the RB training centre at Cottaweg, which is shared with the professional team. Other grounds include the Sportschule Egidius Braun of the Saxony Football Association (SFV) at Abtnaundorf. The RB training center with its sports complex is currently used by men's junior teams from U14 to the Reserve team, as the location of the youth academy. The club arranges the RB Leipzig Football School at different locations several times per year. The RB Leipzig Football School is a multi-day training camp, for boys and girls aged between seven and 14 years. A planned  training camp in Halle in 2015 was initially cancelled for security reasons, after threats of violence from local football fans. RB Leipzig has a partnership in junior football with SC Pfullendorf. The club has also cooperated in junior football with several local clubs, such as 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig, BSV Schönau 1983 and ESV Delitzsch. The 17 RB Leipzig junior teams collected 9 league titles and 3 cup titles together during the 2014–15 season. The following season was even more successful in terms of number of titles won. The 17 RB Leipzig junior teams collected 8 league titles and 6  cup titles during the 2015–16 season. Men's junior football. The first four men's junior teams, from A- to D-juniors, were acquired from FC Sachsen Leipzig in the summer of 2009. After leaving his job as head coach of the professional team in 2010, Tino Vogel served as head coach of the A-junior team, before being appointed new head coach of the reserve team in 2011. The B-junior team qualified for the Under 17 Bundesliga in 2011. The team won the Under 17 Bundesliga Nord/Nordost and qualified for the German championship for the first time  in 2014. The team reached the final, but were defeated by Borussia Dortmund. The A-junior team qualified for the Under 19 Bundesliga in 2014. Incumbent B-junior coach Frank Leicht was announced as new head coach for the 2014–15 season. He was replaced as B-junior coach by Achim Beierlorzer, who had previously been employed for four years as B-junior coach at SpVgg Greuther Fürth. Achim Beierlorzer was later replaced by incumbent U14 coach Robert Klauß, after being appointed interim coach of the professional team in February 2015. The 2014–15 season proved successful. The A-junior team won  the Under 19 Bundesliga Nord/Nordost, and the B-junior team won the Under 17 Bundesliga Nord/Nordost for a second time in two consecutive years. With its A- and B-junior teams, RB Leipzig was the only club in Germany with two teams left in the final rounds of the German championship in 2015. As of 2015, the club has 14 men's junior teams, ranging from U8 to the Reserve team. Two players from the A-junior team, Vitaly Janelt and Dominik Franke, were selected to play for the Germany national under-17 team in the 2015 FIFA U-17  World Cup. Women's junior football. In June 2013, RB Leipzig announced the creation of its first two women's junior football teams, starting from the 2013–14 season. The first two teams created were a C and a D-junior team. The C-junior team was to be trained by Mandy Morgenstern and start in the Bezirksliga. The D-junior team was to be trained by Susann Seiring and start in the 1. Kreisklasse. In June 2016, RB Leipzig accepted to take over the state training centre for women's and girls football of the Saxony Football Association (SFV) at  Gontardweg from women's football club FFV Leipzig from 1 July 2016. The deal followed upon a period of financial difficulties for FFV Leipzig, which had for a while sought to transfer its youth academy to RB Leipzig. The take over includes the U17, U15 and U13 teams of FFV Leipzig, which from the 2016–17 season will be integrated into the RB Leipzig junior teams. As of 2015, the club has three women's junior teams, ranging from B- to D-juniors. The D-junior team won the 2015–16 Landespokal, collecting the club's first title of the season. Youth  academy. The RB Leipzig youth academy is the multi-layered youth system of RB Leizpig. It is located at the RB Leipzig training centre at Cottaweg. The establishment of a successful youth academy has been an integral part of the club's long-term strategy and philosophy since its early years. Red Bull GmbH owner Dietrich Mateschitz said by the club's founding that his hopes were that the majority of the professional team would in the future have come through the ranks of the club's own academy. Sporting director Ralf Rangnick said in 2012 that the ambition was  to each year introduce one or two players from the youth academy in the professional team. Planning for a training centre with facilities for a youth academy began in 2010, and the first section of the training center was opened in August 2011. Shortly after Ralf Ragnick became new Sporting director in July 2012, he began an extensive restructuring of the club. RB Leipzig recruited the duo Frieder Schrof and Thomas Albeck from the VfB Stuttgart youth academy in September 2012. Frieder Schrof had for years been successfully employed at VfB Stuttgart, responsible for the development of players such as  Mario Gómez, Sami Khedira, Serdar Tasci and Thomas Hitzlsperger. During his time at the club, the A- and B-junior teams won 15 German championships. Frieder Schrof became head of the youth department. Soon thereafter, RB Leipzig also recruited Thomas Schlieck from Schalke 04. Thomas Schlieck had previously been employed as goalkeeper coordinator at Schalke 04 and had before that been employed for twelve years as goalkeeping coach at Arminia Bielefeld. Thomas Schlieck became goalkeeper coordinator, responsible for goalkeeper training and development from the U8 to the professional team. He was also employed to work with goalkeeper scouting. The youth  academy became a certified DFB-Youth academy in October 2012. An expansion of the training centre at Cottaweg began in January 2014. The plans included a 13,500 square meters sports complex, with extensive facilities for the youth academy. The RB Leipzig youth academy together with three of its schooling partners, the Sächsisches Landesgymnasium für Sport Leipzig, the Sportoberschule Leipzig and the Rahn Dittrich Group in Leipzig, received certificate as DFB-Elite school in November 2014. 105 youth players were enrolled in schools of the three partners as of September 2014. Other schooling partners of the youth academy included the Gutenbergschule  and the Sportschule Egidius Braun of the Saxony Football Federation (SFV). The youth academy was certified with the highest rating, three stars and the title "Excellent", by the DFB and the DFL in July 2015. The certificate placed the youth academy among the highest rated youth academies in Germany. The new sports complex at the RB Training centre was opened in September 2015. The training centre now has a boarding school with rooms for 50 students, more than any other in the Bundesliga. 48 rooms were occupied by players aged between 15 and 19 years already by October 2015. The  style of play taught at the youth academy is aggressive, ball oriented, and run intensive, with forward defending and fast transitions. The youth academy demands the highest discipline from its players. Youth players have to pay attention not only to their physical shape, but also to their appearance. The youth academy imposes fines for weight gains and its Code of conduct contains regulations on both hair style and tattoos. Unusual hair styles and tattoos are forbidden. The scouting system operates worldwide, in cooperation with other football clubs in the Red Bull sporting portfolio. Up to U11, only children from Leipzig  and the immediate vicinity are recruited. Up to U15, players within a radius of 100 kilometres are requited. From U16 an above, scouting is done in the whole of Germany and worldwide. Asked what type of players the youth academy looked for, Frieder Schrof said that players who come to RB Leipzig, must comply with the club's philosophy: be ball-hunters, be mentally and physically fast. For scouting purposes, the club arranges an annual "Talent Scouting Day", where boys and girls aged between six and 16 years are scouted. The Talent Scouting Day is done over three to five  days. Young players are tested in speed tests, technique training, a 5-a-side tournament and a final match. The most talented players are invited to train with the junior teams. The Talent Scouting Day in 2015 had 1,000 applicants, of which 700 were selected. At the end of the day, 90 young players received invitations to the junior teams. The Talent Scouting Day in 2015 drew participants not only from Leipzig and surrounding cities, but also from Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Baden-Württemberg, and even Austria. The RB Leipzig youth academy has been accused  of poaching young players from other clubs in questionable ways. One of the first to complain was FC Carl Zeiss Jena in 2012. The club said that young talents had been poached by RB Leipzig right at its own youth academy and with lucrative offers. Similar complaint did also come from other clubs in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Complaints later also came from Eintracht Frankfurt, after 15-year-old talent Renat Dadachev left the club for RB Leipzig in 2014, allegedly for a much higher payment. Frieder Shrof gave comments on these accusations in an interview in 2014, saying that  the club was not interested in attracting young players with money. He said that young players coming to RB Leipzig for money, have gone to the wrong place, and that the club wants to attract young players with good conditions for development and good education. In another interview in 2015, he added that what the club does is reasonable and legitimate, and that other clubs do just the same. In 2015, RB Leipzig was noted for signing the 15-year-old talent Elias Abouchabaka from Hertha BSC for a remarkable transfer-fee of 250,000 euros. The signing was preceded by  a legal dispute and was criticized for the way it was done. RB Leipzig was accused by Hertha BSC for disregarding a Gentlemen's agreement on young talents between the 36 Bundesliga clubs. The RB Leipzig youth academy cooperates with the youth academies of FC Red Bull Salzburg, New York Red Bulls and Red Bull Brasil. The youth academy also had a cooperation with the youth academy of the now dissolved Red Bull Ghana. The cooperation covers several areas, primarily scouting, medicine and training philosophy. The cooperation in scouting forms a network, reaching worldwide. In Europe, scouting is divided. RB  Leipzig scouts more to the north, and FC Red Bull Salzburg scouts more to the south.