RB Leipzig actually won before kick-off. A few stubborn people from the sometimes small-minded football world and a few criminals wanted to make life as difficult as possible for the Bundesliga club, which is not exactly at the top of the traditionalists’ popularity list, before the cup game against FC Teutonia 05 Ottensen.
Hamburg’s fourth division club couldn’t find a suitable stadium in their own city because, for example, FC St. Pauli didn’t want to use their stadium for “other football” as a stage. And in Dessau, the alternative venue, the lawn was destroyed a week before kick-off on Tuesday (20:46 / Sky and ZDF).
Tedesco: “We would have liked to play away from home”
At the end of this farce, Leipzig plays at home in front of more than 10,000 of its own fans and saves itself a business trip at the start of three English weeks. And Teutonia, as it currently looks, will leave the biggest game in the club’s history with a five-digit minus. “Teutonia got the wrong guy. They didn’t get a place in Hamburg. Of course you can now go through the individual clubs, who said, no, not on principle,” said Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco. St. Pauli and Hamburger SV canceled Ottensen, Eintracht Norderstedt and VfB Lübeck cannot meet the requirements of the German Football Association (DFB) regarding the floodlights. The Dessau lawn poisoning followed as a low point.
The fact that so many sensitivities are injured with a profane football game is primarily annoying. “We can play at home now, but that’s not the point. We would have liked to play away, as it should be in the first round of the cup,” said Tedesco. And so that Teutonia doesn’t end up paying more, Leipzig wants to help. The test tube club, evil in some eyes, can market itself as a savior.
Ottensen does not find the solution to the exchange of home rights inconvenient. “It’s the best solution for the club,” said coach David Bergner, who has an RB past. “It’s a great experience for the boys to play in such a big stadium.”
At home, the regional league advertises with “Tradition from Ottensen” – and thus offends. Until the middle of the last decade, Teutonia was considered a cult club that oscillated between the district and state leagues and gave a talent like Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting a jump start into the big football world. Then the ambitions rose and the popularity fell.
Both clubs advertise an energy drink
Suddenly, a sponsor (Lukoil) got involved, who created new dimensions. Thanks to Russian oil funds, the rise was targeted. After the invasion of Ukraine, the club distanced itself from the sponsor. In 2016, a manager was installed who replaced the entire squad, and in 2017 it went from the state to the premier league. The promotion round to the regional league was reached in 2018, and promotion was achieved in 2020.
The switchover to Profitum has been complete since the summer. The players who still had a job or were studying and were therefore unable to train in the morning had to look for new clubs. 18 new people were brought in for this – many with third division experience. Even a player from the RB offspring was committed. If the hoped-for bonuses flow, everyone can make a good living from football.
In addition to the reservations, there is one more thing that connects Ottensen and Leipzig. Both advertise an energy drink on the shirt. “This cooperation is an important energy boost for us,” said President Liborio Mazzagatti with a wink. The sponsor was also appropriately presented shortly before the cup hit against Leipzig.
