Bundesliga
Rose’s tantrum triggers Leipzig spectacle
Leipzig coach Marco Rose is annoyed by the long waiting times for video evidence. photo
© Jan Woitas/dpa
RB Leipzig rolls over Stuttgart and the new team shows what they are capable of. The trigger for this, however, was also a freak out by the coach.
Assistant coach Alexander Zickler pushed his boss back and prevented worse things from happening. In retrospect, however, Rose’s furor was the initial spark for the cup winner’s grandiose 5:1 against the helpless VfB Stuttgart.
“This scene triggered us, especially the coach, who was really angry,” admitted captain Willi Orban. Then you “put off the shackles a bit”. It was truly a frenzy of five goals in 25 minutes that you probably only get into once a season. But the spectacle showed what the Saxon team, which has been rebuilt with nine newcomers, is capable of.
pressure was great
After the 2: 3 at the start in Leverkusen, the pressure was great, the start of the Bundesliga should not and should not be completely screwed up like last year. Among the players, Rose admitted, there was uncertainty. That was suffocated against Stuttgart by the pressing spectacle, just like the opponent. “It’s about making exclamation marks out of question marks in all areas,” said Rose. “Not asking if we can go the intensity all the time. Not asking if we should go higher. Just doing it.”
The load on newcomers like Lois Openda or Xavi Simons, who both scored against Stuttgart, is enormous. Eventually they will have to replace stars like top scorer Christopher Nkunku and art shooter Dominik Szoboszlai. Rose emphasized that the process was far from over, but saw the runaway victory as a particle accelerator. “It’s all a bit shaky at the moment, but a sense of achievement helps. The game was incredibly important for that,” said the 46-year-old.
Openda in particular shows that the transfer fee of almost 40 million euros leaves him cold. In the second game he scored his second goal for RB. “I don’t give a damn about the fee. It doesn’t increase the pressure. I just need my self-confidence and then I’ll play well,” said the Belgian. Orban pointed out that the lively striker is the most advanced of all the newcomers.
Werner in crisis
Timo Werner, on the other hand, is only once out of the starting XI. The international was replaced by Yussuf Poulsen against Stuttgart and the Dane gave Rose no arguments against letting him play at 1. FC Union Berlin next Sunday. The coach did not want to comment on Werner, who hasn’t scored a competitive goal since mid-April: “Timo is happy for us that we won 5-1.”
Regarding the video evidence, not exactly a favorite topic of Rose’s, the RB coach lobbied for a little reform. In the case of disputed penalty scenes in particular, you should primarily trust the decision of the referee on the pitch and not study super slow motion for minutes. “If you have to create a line for offside, it can take time here and there. But looking at decisions, looking really, that doesn’t work,” said Rose. If you don’t see a wrong decision within ten seconds, then you should trust the referee’s first decision.
In this game, the video referee intervened a total of four times. Penalty situations were evaluated twice. After the game, Rose apologized to referee Frank Willenborg (Osnabrück) for his tantrum and took the consequences with humor: “Now I’ve already had my second yellow card on the second day of the game, so I have to plan well for the rest of the season.”