Champions League
Leipzig coach Tedesco is threatened with the end
Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco after the defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk. photo
© Jan Woitas/dpa
RB Leipzig showed a slight improvement against Donetsk, but still conceded four goals. The downward trend is clearly recognizable – and may become an unsolvable problem for coach Tedesco.
The end of RB Leipzig’s desolate start to the Champions League was perhaps symbolic. Coach Domenico Tedesco shook hands with his players after the final whistle and, as usual, gathered them in the center circle. Of course, the 36-year-old wanted to thank his pros for their efforts despite the embarrassing 4-1 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk and give them a few positive words to take with them. But the scene seemed almost like a farewell.
“The lads gave everything, threw everything in. I don’t worry about anything else. I’m the wrong person to talk to,” said Tedesco. The right contact person, in this case Tedesco’s boss Oliver Mintzlaff, did not go in front of the microphone after the anything but glamorous evening of the premier class. The cup winner has not had another strong man, such as a sports director, who could back the criticized coach for some time.
Tedesco is on his own, like his predecessor Jesse Marsch was. And although Mintzlaff is currently spending a lot of time signing Max Eberl as the new sports director, this deal could come too late for Tedesco. Even the game on Saturday at Borussia Dortmund may not see the coach, who was only hired in December last year, as RB manager.
Rose acted as a successor
After the embarrassing 4-0 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt on the most recent Bundesliga matchday, Marco Rose was discussed as the successor. The 45-year-old lives in a suburb of Leipzig, is very familiar with the RB cosmos as a former Salzburg coach and is currently without a contract. He also knows Eberl from their time together in Mönchengladbach. It all sounds a bit like a fateful coincidence that is just beginning on Leipzig’s Cottaweg.
Tedesco described the game against the Ukrainian champions as a “reflection of the season so far”. Leipzig put in an enormous amount of effort, but the result was simply not right. In addition, there was an inexplicable dropout by captain Peter Gulacsi, which led to the 0:1. The renewed deficit immediately after the equalizer was the knockout for Leipzig.
Xaver Schlager summarized the evening quite appropriately when the midfielder was asked about his first Champions League appearance in an RB jersey. “It’s like buying a new Ferrari and hitting a wall with 100,” said the Austrian. The Ferrari would then be a total loss. RB’s game, on the other hand, should be repairable.