After the game, Oliver Mintzlaff mutated into a chameleon. As the top boss of RB Leipzig, he had just spoken to the president about the 3:5 defeat against FC Bayern in the Supercup and found clear words (“we were far too scared in the first half”); now he was completely the sports director again. In the mixed zone, Mintzlaff had spotted a still-employee, left-back Angeliño, 25, who had been released to “clarify his professional future” but had turned up at the stadium in civilian clothes despite original plans to the contrary. Mintzlaff took the opportunity to ask the Spaniard for a chat in the garage tunnel.
It was extremely friendly, especially considering that it had previously been heard from qualified sources that Angeliño not only sulked, but actually cooked – because of a personal matter that was then sealed on Sunday. A personality that, among other things, raised the question of whether the left-back had shown reasonable performance during his time at Leipzig. Or whether he was guilty of something. Which Mintzlaff denied with friendly words and a slap on the back in farewell.
But it stayed the same: David Raum, 24-year-old left-back for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and the German national team, signed an allegedly very, very generous five-year contract with RB Leipzig on Sunday. Hoffenheim are said to receive more than 25 million transfer fees for their surprise man last season.
“I’m very happy about my move to RB Leipzig,” Raum was quoted as saying in a club statement. And Angeliño, the previous holder of this position? Refused any public comment on Saturday evening, but reportedly announced in a conversation with Mintzlaff that he wanted to fulfill his three-year contract, which was not quite as good but was still heavily equipped. What is likely to change as soon as the word is out on the transfer market that Leipzig has a very good left-back to give away. Angeliño should not be interested in moving to Raum’s former club Hoffenheim. But would he really sit on the bench in Leipzig?
From now on a Leipziger: David Raum, here still in the Hoffenheim jersey.
(Photo: Thomas Frey/Imago)
Raum is also a very good left-back, his cross runs have made him an integral part of national coach Hansi Flick’s World Cup plans. Only: The 3: 5 against FC Bayern sharpened the senses again that the left flank is certainly not the biggest construction site in the Leipzig squad.
The double six in front of the defense with Kevin Kampl and Konrad Laimer didn’t get the game under control; the central defense around captain Willi Orban once again seemed overwhelmed against a so-called big opponent, the injury to the central defender Josko Gvardiol has fatal effects, especially on the opening of the game. “We’ve been missing him a lot for eight weeks, he’s a very, very important player for us,” said coach Domenico Tedesco. And his strikers didn’t even begin to get into the game in the first half.
“Well? Do you want to get in?” Bayern coach Nagelsmann threw at his former player Dani Olmo
Only after the break, when André Silva and Dani Olmo came on, did the generous and, given the quality of play in the squad, surprisingly give up possession of the ball and initiative. With the result that Leipzig conjured up a touch of equality with goals from Marcel Halstenberg, Christopher Nkunku and Dani Olmo, which was somewhat fictitious. Julian Nagelsmann, coach of FC Bayern, certainly knew very well which nerve he hit or had to hit with his former player Olmo when he gave him a cheeky, tongue-in-cheek “Well? Do you want to get in?” before disappearing into the Bayern team bus with a big smile.
The remark probably did not fulfill the facts of an acute poaching attempt, which does not mean that the Bavarians would take their eyes off the people of Leipzig. The question of whether Konrad Laimer, who cleared the ball, will leave Leipzig for Munich as he wanted is still unclear. A decision will be made soon, Mintzlaff explained. But the deadlines that had been set internally as a deadline for a possible Laimer change expired a few days ago, so Mintzlaff’s words must be interpreted to mean that he is waiting with interest for an improved transfer offer from Bayern.
Another personal issue remained open at the weekend, specifically on the subject of “sports director”. The TV broadcaster Sky had reported hours before the game of Leipzig negotiations with Max Eberl, the manager who had given up his post in Mönchengladbach at the end of January for health reasons. “We’ll let you know when we have something to announce,” Mintzlaff said Sat 1followed by a sentence that was remarkable in its vagueness: “We will then present who it will be at some point.”
He was remarkable because Mintzlaff had announced a “1A solution” in the past after the departure of today’s Frankfurt manager Markus Krösche and sounded as if he had the biggest mastermind in the European football industry on his hook. But: Even on Sunday – more than a year after Krösche’s departure – the sports director post at RB was still vacant.
Its tasks have been spread across many shoulders for some time, which smells like friction losses. Frank Aehlig has the title “Head of Licensing”, Florian Scholz is “Commercial Director Sport”, Christopher Vivell “Technical Director”. In the end, however, Mintzlaff has the last word. It was not possible to clarify on Sunday whether that played a role in the talks with Eberl. Because the former Gladbach manager left inquiries unanswered.