After the last-minute defeat at Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig wants to collect its first points of this Champions League season against Juventus Turin. And thus take the first step towards reaching the knockout round.
RB coach Marco Rose wants to achieve his first CL victory on Wednesday.
IMAGO/Picture Point LE
The words that Supervisory Board Chairman Oliver Mintzlaff chose in the detailed kicker interview were of course also a big topic of discussion internally at RB Leipzig at the beginning of the week.
Mintzlaff, who was promoted to the management of Red Bull almost two years ago, criticized the past few years and the recent Bundesliga zeros against Union Berlin and FC St. Pauli, “that there were always opportunities to achieve more, and “We just didn’t manage to do that. Unfortunately, we were never there when the gap opened up.” “Unfortunately, there are always games in which the team or parts of the team are not ready to do everything they can,” the former long-distance runner criticized.
I don’t know where the gap was for us.
champions league, 2nd matchday
“Oliver is our boss, that should motivate us first and foremost. He wants the best for the club. He is very, very ambitious, I am too, we all are here,” reacted coach Marco Rose in the press conference on Tuesday before the duel against Juventus Turin on Mintzlaff’s announcements: “He has expressed the expectation of taking the next step. That’s what we all want here. I know what we have created and what we perhaps haven’t brought forward yet.” With a view to his two-year term in office, Rose also said: “I honestly don’t know where the gap was for us in the last two years.”
When he took over the team in September 2022 after the 5th matchday, they were already behind in the title race with just five points. Nevertheless, they confidently qualified for the Champions League and won the DFB Cup. And last season, which started with winning the Super Cup, they had to compensate for the departure of “five very, very important players” and also the injury-related absences of Willi Orban and Dani Olmo for weeks.
“You shouldn’t forget that in the entire evaluation,” pleaded Rose, who emphasized: “He is our boss, it is his right to express himself. He has not insulted or questioned anyone. If you are in the business If you get a little pressure from your boss, then that’s part of it.” You can now wear yourself out in discussions or see the statements as motivation, “and we all take that as motivation.”
Mintzlaff demands a place in the knockout round
Leipzig’s CL start in Madrid
Mintzlaff also had clear expectations when it came to the performance in the Champions League: “In our short club history, we have already managed to reach the semi-finals of the Europa League and the semi-finals of the Champions League. That’s why our aim is to reach the group stage “To survive and move into the knockout round, just to take part in the competition, that phase is now behind RB Leipzig.” Against this background, the Leipzig team are under pressure after the bitter 1-2 defeat in Madrid in the premiere duel against Juventus Turin.
“I want us to play our style and be active. We have to be more self-confident than at Atletico,” demands Rose and hopes that last Saturday’s 4-0 win against FC Augsburg was an initial spark: “We have one showed a good reaction and gave us back confidence in what we can achieve.”
Gulacsi explains international match cancellations
Since the Augsburg game, the coach has been intensively involved with the Italian record champions, who are still without a goal in Serie A after six matchdays. “A great, very mature team, very well organized, diligently defending and very flexible with the ball. It will be a tough task,” said Rose, who also emphasized: “We have also recognized things that we want to use. We feel “We’re definitely ready.” He will largely rely on the same starting eleven as against Augsburg, including veteran Peter Gulacsi.
The keeper caused a stir in his Hungarian homeland by foregoing the international matches in October and November. On Tuesday, Profi, who returned to the RB team in February after tearing a cruciate ligament, justified the decision with physical considerations: “Playing for your country is something special. But I’m now 34 and had learned a lot about my body during the injury. I want to get through this period of many English weeks fit and healthy and I have a great responsibility for RB Leipzig.” National coach Marco Rossi accepted the decision and understood that the cancellation was not a final resignation from the national team: “What the future will bring remains to be seen.”
