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Red Bull and RB Leipzig.
Why majority of people are of the view that the latter is the most hated team in Germany.
[A THREAD]
Why majority of people are of the view that the latter is the most hated team in Germany.
[A THREAD]
RB Leipzig is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The men's professional football club is run by the spin-off organization RasenBallsport Leipzig. RB Leipzig plays its home matches at the Red Bull Arena.
The Red Bull company (RB) made its first attempt to enter the German football in 2006 deciding to invest in FC Sachsen Leipzig who were in financial difficulties. RB drew up plans to invest in the club alongside planning a takeover with a change of team colours and of club name.
Playing in the fourth tier then, the club had to undergo the German Football Association (DFB) licensing procedure. RB and the club were close to a deal, but the DFB rejected the proposed new club name "FC Red Bull Sachsen Leipzig" and feared too much influence from the company.
RB abondoned the plans as a result. They made contact with FC St. Pauli. Once it became clear that RB had plans that went far beyond conventional sponsoring the club ended negotiations. RB then made contact with TSV 1860 Munich. Negotiations began but to no fruitful end also.
In 2007, RB made plans to invest in Fortuna Düsseldorf. It was revealed that the company wanted to acquire more than 50 percent of the shares. Rumors spread that the company wanted to rename the club "Red Bull Düsseldorf" or similar. This attracted wild protests from the fans.
In the beginning of 2009, RB contacted SSV Markranstädt, a small club from a village thirteen kilometers west of Leipzig. The club was positively inclined to entering a partnership with a global company. The club wanted to secure their long term finances and accepted to engage RB
RB began negotiations with SSV Markranstädt. Only five weeks after the first contact, SSV Markranstädt agreed to sell its playing right for the Oberliga to RB. The cost has not been disclosed but SSV Markranstädt is believed to have received a compensation of €350,000.
RB Leipzig acquired the playing right for the Oberliga, the top three men's teams and a senior men's team from SSV Markranstädt. The first team was completely taken over, with its training staff and its head coach.
The transfer of the playing right for the Oberliga had to be approved by the North East German Football Association(NOFV). RB Leipzig would need at least four junior teams, including an A-junior team, to finally obtain the playing right.
RB therefore approached FC Sachsen Leipzig. The club was again in financial difficulties and could no longer finance its youth department. The club then acquired four junior teams from FC Sachsen Leipzig. The NOFV approved the transfer of the playing right in June 2009.
RasenBallsport Leipzig was founded on 19 May 2009. RB Leipzig became the 5th football commitment in the RB sporting portfolio after FC RB Salzburg in Austria, New York RB in the United States, RB Brasil in Brazil and RB Ghana in Ghana.
In contrast to previous clubs, RB Leipzig does not bear the corporate name. The DFB would not permit the corporate name to be included in the club name.
Instead, the club adopted the unusual name "RasenBallsport" literally meaning "Lawn Ball Sports" but through the use of the initials "RB" which corresponds to the initials of the company, the corporate identity could still be recognized.
Most professional German clubs follow the 50+1 rule. The 50+1 rule is an informal term used to refer to a clause in the regulations of the DFB which states that, in order to obtain a license to compete in the Bundesliga, a club must hold a majority of its own voting rights.
The rule is designed to ensure that the club's members retain overall control, by way of owning 50% of shares, +1 share, protecting clubs from the influence of external investors.
However in cases where a person or company has substantially funded a club for a continuous period of 20 years, it is possible for that person or company to own a controlling stake. This exception notably applies to Bayer 04 Leverkusen (owned by pharmaceuticals company Bayer)
and VfL Wolfsburg (owned by automobile manufacturer Volkswagen), and has more recently allowed SAP co-founder Dietmar Hopp to gain control of his former youth club of 1899 Hoffenheim.
Another exception are teams that were initially formed as factory work teams way back in the 30s or 40s (A works team, factory or company team is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business.)
Hoffenheim who happen to be one of the most hated teams in Germany were not started as a works team, so Dietmar Hopp becoming their majority owner, despite genuinely being a lifelong fan of them, caused a lot of ill will towards them.
Germany takes fan ownership seriously so RB Leipzig skirting the rules by mostly allowing Red Bull employees to become club members and barely anybody else generated a lot of ill will towards them also. Probably the most hated.
