Interview with Subrata Pal (India/Prayag United SC): Focus on India then club

German fourth division (Regionalliga Nordost) club RB Leipzig are not going to sign Indian international goalkeeper Subrata Pal ( RB Leipzig: Subrata not selected, but club to invite him again ), but at the club they were all praise for the Indian keeper. I had a chance to speak to Subrata in Leipzig and here in part two, we speak about Team India and his new club Prayag United SC.


You missed a few matches for India late last year and this year due to injury. Now you return to Team India under national coach Wim Koevermans. How do you see things?

It will be new, not only for me but for all of us. We all start fresh under the new coach (Wim Koevermans) and we will have to perform at the camp, if I perform well then I stay in the team otherwise not.

I will give 100% and try my level best to impress the coach with my qualities and abilities then I want to be in the first eleven as India's no.1 once again to win and lift the Nehru Cup!


You have left Pune FC to return to Kolkata to sign for Prayag United SC, who have been the big spenders in Indian football this summer. What are your expectations from the new season?

I currently am not thinking about my new club, the I-League or the Kolkata league then my first target is to win with India the Nehru Cup again. Once the tournament is over I will join Prayag United and focus on the season ahead with them, knowing that there is pressure to perform and win trophies.


Here Photos: Subrata Pal's training with RB Leipzig !

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Interview with Subrata Pal (India/Prayag United SC): Learned a lot in Leipzig!

German fourth division (Regionalliga Nordost) club RB Leipzig are not going to sign Indian international goalkeeper Subrata Pal ( RB Leipzig: Subrata not selected, but club to invite him again ), but at the club they were all praise for the Indian keeper. I had a chance to speak to Subrata in Leipzig and here in part one, we speak about his trial-cum-training stint with the German club.


You spend two weeks here in Germany with RB Leipzig. How was the experience?

Excellent! I really enjoyed the experience. It was a good learning process for me to train with the different teams (seniors & under-23s) of RB Leipzig. The level of coaching, players, everything at the club is very high, so it was a good challenge for me.


What could you learn here from the coaches and the players?

First of all professionalism and giving 100% in every practice session. This might sound obvious, but this is what you learn when you come here!

You have here great pitches, great atmosphere. It just was an incredible experience.

I learned a lot of things and I hope I can utilise all that I have learned over the last couple of weeks in my game in the future.


If you had to pick amongst all the things you have seen here in Germany, what was the best of all that at RB Leipzig?

The pitch!!! There is no doubt about the fact that the grounds are the best. I just love practicing and playing on such real grass pitches.

And if I am allowed to name something else then it is the training, especially the goalkeeping training under Perry Bräutigam which is of the highest quality.

Then you could also name the facilities, as you realise it is very difficult in the end to name of one amongst all these.


People back in India questioned why the Indian national team goalkeeper has gone to a German fourth division club. What would you like to tell these people?

I don't want to say anything to anyone, but these people should come and see with their own eyes the level of football in the German fourth division and then make their judgement. Surely they would be surprised by the professionalism and high standards at this level.

I have done what I thought was good for me, I have learned a lot at RB Leipzig and once I again perform well in India then people will say that he has learned something good in Germany.


Here Photos: Subrata Pal's training with RB Leipzig !

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RB Leipzig Goalkeeping Coach Bräutigam: Subrata could play 2.Bundesliga!

German fourth division (Regionalliga Nordost) club RB Leipzig are not going to sign Indian international goalkeeper Subrata Pal ( RB Leipzig: Subrata not selected, but club to invite him again ), but at the club they were all praise for the Indian keeper. Interestingly RB Leipzig's Goalkeeping Coach Perry Bräutigam, a former East Germany international, nicknamed Subrata as 'Air India' for his as he termed it his 'acrobatic flying abilities'. Here is what Perry Bräutigam told me about Subrata Pal...


Was this the first time you trained an Indian goalkeeper?

This was the first time. I have had contact with loads of footballers from around the world, but so far I have never had to do something with Indian goalkeepers or even a footballer from India.

It was a lot of fun to work with Subrata then he is eager to learn and brings with him a certain quality. A real joy for me as a goalkeeping coach to work with him.


If we go into a little bit more details. What do you rate as his strengths and weaknesses?

For a goalkeeper he has a very good technique, while his biggest strength is the ability to react, he is also quickly down on the ground; but due to the lack of height he has problems with the higher balls though with his acrobatic jumping ability and agility he can cover a lot for the lack of height.

But I cannot really judge him on crosses and high balls then I didn't see him in match action which you need to see to be able to make a fair judgement.

And coming back to his technical abilities, you see that he is a playing goalkeeper whom you can play back the ball in difficult situations.


If you had to judge at which level Subrata could play in Germany, what would you say?

That is very difficult to say because here I would have to speculate besides having the talent, there is also the luck factor which decides if a keeper can make it to the top or gets stuck in the lower leagues.

I think that Subrata could play in the 2.Bundesliga!

But as said earlier, I haven't seen Subrata in match action which would help me with my judgement. What I have seen in training, the way he integrated into the squad was sensational which we don't always have with different nationalities. There were no problems with him and one could see that he had become a part of the team in his short time here at his farewell.

I think he enjoyed his time with us and has learned something for his career, and hopefully we will have him back with us soon.


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RB Leipzig Coach Zorniger: Good experience for Subrata Pal!

German fourth division (Regionalliga Nordost) club RB Leipzig are not going to sign Indian international goalkeeper Subrata Pal ( RB Leipzig: Subrata not selected, but club to invite him again ), but at the club they were all praise for the Indian keeper. Here is what RB Leipzig's Head Coach Andreas Zorniger told me about Subrata Pal...


You had Subrata Pal at RB Leipzig for a couple of weeks in training though only a week with your senior team. What is your impression about him?

He is highly motivated, a very friendly and very well behaved boy.

I think it was good experience for him to train under a man like Perry Bräutigam (RB Leipzig goalkeeper coach) and he had a good understanding with our other goalkeepers, who together got the best out of him in training. He will have seen that you are allowed to make few to no mistakes here as a goalkeeper in Germany.

And I think these two weeks will have helped him to improve and we could see it ourselves in the little time he was here.


Was this your first contact with Indian football?

I have seen a little Indian football on television, but it was the first Indian player to train under me though Perry Bräutigam worked with him most of the time.


What would be your judgement on Subrata Pal?

You could see that he has got the talent and the basics to become a very good goalkeeper, but also one could see that he needs to work even more on himself to become better and better.


You are new to RB Leipzig, which is seen as something special in German football. Surprised to suddenly have had an Indian goalkeeper amongst your players?

I knew when I signed the contract with RB Leipzig due to the involvement of Red Bull that this is not a usual football club.

Surely having an Indian goalkeeper came as a surprise to me at the start, but in training for us to have a talented fourth goalkeeper was not an issue, actually it was good for the training sessions to have another goalkeeper.

So in the end it helped us and I hope Subrata as well!


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Photos: Subrata Pal's training with RB Leipzig

I was with my friend and colleague Chris Punnakkattu Daniel on Wednesday/Thurday in Leipzig to watch Subrata Pal in action at his trial-cum-training with RB Leipzig here in Germany. Here some further photos...

The two week trial-cum-training trip to Germany has been made possible by the Indian division of Red Bull, who are the owners of RB Leipzig and who have signed a one year deal with Subrata Pal to help develop the goalkeeper further with his career.


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RB Leipzig: Subrata not selected, but club to invite him again

German fourth division (Regionalliga Nordost) club RB Leipzig are not going to sign Indian international goalkeeper Subrata Pal for the upcoming 2012/13 season, but they would like to invite Subrata Pal back for further training in May or July 2013. That is the outcome for Subrata after his two week trial-cum-training stint with the senior and under-23 teams of RB Leipzig.

Both RB Leipzig head coach Andreas Zorniger and goalkeeping coach Perry Bräutigam spoke highly about Subrata Pal, but currently don't see him fitting into their scheme of things for the upcoming season besides their being player registration issues.

Former East Germany goalkeeper Perry Bräutigam was all praise for Subrata, "Subrata gave 100 from the first second, he was eager to learn and receptive about what I tried to teach him. Above all, his jumping ability and agility is very well trained. And his reflexes are really strong though off the line he would have to work a bit. I hope he returns to us for more training next summer and then we will see what happens."

Subrata integrated well into the RB Leipzig squad and was given the nickname of 'Air India' for his acrobatic skills, jumping ability and agility. The India no.1 enjoyed the couple of weeks training at the club and will further try to make a career in Europe after getting a real feel for it at one of the most aspiring clubs in Germany with especially a return to Leipzig next year a possibility.

Subrata had his last training session with RB Leipzig this morning. He will leave Leipzig to return to India on Saturday to join the Team India camp in Bangalore ahead of the 2012 Nehru Cup and thereafter would join his new club Prayag United.

The two week trial-cum-training trip to Germany has been made possible by the Indian division of Red Bull, who are the owners of RB Leipzig and who have signed a one year deal with Subrata Pal to help develop the goalkeeper further with his career.


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Photos: Subrata Pal in training with RB Leipzig

Since yesterday I am with my friend and colleague Chris Punnakkattu Daniel in Leipzig to watch Subrata Pal in action at his trial-cum-training with RB Leipzig here in Germany. Here some photos...

The two week trial-cum-training trip to Germany has been made possible by the Indian division of Red Bull, who are the owners of RB Leipzig and who have signed a one year deal with Subrata Pal to help develop the goalkeeper further with his career.


Please LIKE www.facebook.com/arunfoot & follow @Arunfoot on Twitter to get further updates on Subrata Pal's trial in Germany along with further news on what the other Indian footballers and Players of Indian origin are doing in Europe!

Subrata Pal's tough training stint with RB Leipzig!

Indian international and Prayag United SC goalkeeper Subrata Pal has now enjoyed the first few days of practice with the RB Leipzig senior team after having earlier trained with their Under-23 team.

The German fourth Division (Regionalliga Nordost) side RB Leipzig were away in Austria until Wednesday last week for their pre-season conditioning camp and since Friday Subrata Pal has been training with the senior team under the guidance of goalkeeper coach Perry Bräutigam, a former East Germany international goalkeeper.

Subrata is enjoying every moment of his stint with RB leipzig as he reiterates the great facilities, organisation and the whole surroundings. The goalkeeping practice under Bräutigam is demanding and he is learning new methods of training while in germany.

At the club Subrata is training with their goalkeepers, Swiss national Fabio Coltorti besides youngsters Andreas Kerner and Benjamin Bellot. Especially the 1.97 m Coltorti has impressed Subrata, who has played four years in the Spanish La Liga with Racing Santander besides Swiss giants Grasshopper Zurich and other clubs at home.

Subrata believes if given a chance he could play in Germany's fourth division though physically it would be a challenge for him with most goalkeepers taller and stronger then him. But those who know Subrata will know, he is up for a challenge.

The two week trial-cum-training trip to Germany has been made possible by the Indian division of Red Bull, who are the owners of RB Leipzig and who have signed a one year deal with Subrata Pal to help develop the goalkeeper further with his career.


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Subrata Pal learning & enjoying the RB Leipzig experience!

Indian international goalkeeper Subrata Pal joins the practice of the RB Leipzig senior team this afternoon after having trained with their Under-23 team for the last three days.

The German fourth Division (Regionalliga Nordost) side RB Leipzig were away in Austria until Wednesday for their pre-season training camp. The squad was given an off-day yesterday by their coach Alexander Zorniger and now start their regular practice sessions from today afternoon in which Subrata will join in.

In the last three days Subrata Pal had intensive training with the Under-23s and he just loves the professionalism at the club, has no problem with the currently hot weather in Germany with food and accommodation also being perfect for him.

Subrata, a big fan of German football, is enjoying his stay and said, "In such conditions you can focus on training and playing football!"

At the senior team of RB Leipzig Subrata will now train under former East Germany international goalkeeper Perry Bräutigam, who played and then was goalkeeper coach for many years at FC Hansa Rostock. At the first team Subrata will now train with RB Leipzig's Swiss goalkeeper Fabio Coltorti besides youngsters Andreas Kerner and Benjamin Bellot.

The two week trial-cum-training trip to Germany has been made possible by the Indian division of Red Bull, who are the owners of RB Leipzig and who have signed a one year deal with Subrata Pal to help develop the goalkeeper further with his career.


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Subrata Pal starts training at RB Leipzig tonight

Indian international and Prayag United SC goalkeeper Subrata Pal arrived in Leipzig on Saturday after flying in from Kolkata via Mumbai and Frankfurt/Main for his trial-cum-training stint with German fourth Division (Regionalliga Nordost) side RB Leipzig. Tonight he starts his practice.

Subrata after arriving in Leipzig was given time by RB Leipzig to accustom himself to the new surroundings and weather conditions then it was cool over the weekend for an European summer. Subrata got to see the facilities of RB Leipzig, a little bit of the city and yesterday he took part at the club organised youth camp for 8 to 12 year old kids. A great experience as Subrata said!

With the senior team of RB Leipzig currently away on a week-long pre-season training camp in Bad Aussee in Austria which ends tomorrow; Subrata will train with the Under-23 team of RB Leipzig, who play in the sixth division Landesliga Sachsen, to get acclimatised to German football conditions. He has his first training session with RB Leipzig's Under-23 this evening at 18.30 CET.

The two week trial-cum-training trip to Germany has been made possible by the Indian division of Red Bull, who are the owners of RB Leipzig and who have signed a one year deal with Subrata Pal to help develop the goalkeeper further with his career.


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Some facts about Germany's 4th Division (Regionalliga)

A lot of people in India have had options about the German fourth Division (Regionalliga) since it came out earlier this week that Indian international goalkeeper Subrata Pal would be having a trial-cum-training stint with RB Leipzig. And sadly there has been a lot of misconceptions/misunderstanding about the level of football in Germany's fourth division, which most will not have seen in action.

Therefore I try to give you some information and insight about the Regionalliga, now that Subrata Pal has arrived in Germany...

The Fußball-Regionalliga is the fourth tier of football within the German football league system. From this season, 2012/13, onwards there are five different leagues which make-up the Regionalliga - North, Northeast, West, Southwest and Bavaria. Until last season there were only three Regionalliga's.

Though now having five different leagues only three teams will get promoted to the 3.Liga, which means the five champions and the winner amongst the runners-up Southwest/Bavaria will have to play a playoff to determine the three promotion spots.

The Regionalliga as such is a semi-professional league though many of its top teams are professional football clubs, who have budgets running in the millions of Euros with the aim of getting promoted to the 3.Liga (3rd Division). Further these Regionalliga's are not centrally managed by the German FA (DFB), but by the state and regional football associations.

The newly formed Regionalliga Nordost (Northeast), in which RB Leipzig will play this season, is made-up of teams from the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia.

RB Leipzig go into the season as the top favourites to win the title in the Northeast division as the Red Bull backed side are said to have the biggest budget across all Regionalliga teams, which clearly shows their intentions of getting promoted after two failed attempts.

And coming to talk about the standard. I personally feel it is higher then the overall I-League with better infrastructure and competitiveness, and all this would be a good platform for Subrata to first prove himself and then play in a higher league, if he succeeds.

Subrata Pal has arrived in Germany's Leipzig!

Indian international and Prayag United SC goalkeeper Subrata Pal arrived in Leipzig around mid-day today after flying in from Kolkata via Mumbai and Frankfurt/Main for his trial-cum-training stint with German fourth Division (Regionalliga Nordost) side RB Leipzig.

The two week trial-cum-training trip to Germany has been made possible by the Indian division of Red Bull, who are the owners of RB Leipzig and who have signed a one year deal with Subrata Pal to help develop the goalkeeper further with his career.

The senior team of RB Leipzig is currently away on a week-long pre-season training camp in Bad Aussee in Austria which ends on Wednesday, July 25. Therefore Subrata will train with the Under-23 team of RB Leipzig, who play in the sixth division Landesliga Sachsen, to get time to acclimatise to German conditions.

A let-jagged Subrata Pal arrived in the east German town of Leipzig, got himself a local sim card to call his family to tell them that he has arrived safely and then took some rest. He has an off-day tomorrow on Sunday and will join the practice with the RB Leipzig Under-23s on Monday. Then the action starts for him.


Here the link to the Photos: Red Bull India/Subrata Pal press conference in Kolkata

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VIDEO: Subrata Pal press conference ahead of Leipzig trip

This is a video (in Bengali) from the daily show football.com about Thursday's press conference in Kolkata of Red Bull India announcing Subrata Pal's trial-cum-training stint in Germany with RB Leipzig from today onwards.

Subrata Pal ready for RB Leipzig trial

At a Red Bull India organised press conference at the Hotel Hindusthan International in Kolkata today, the Austrian energy drink maker formally announced the trial of Indian international goalkeeper Subrata Pal at German fourth division (Regionalliga Nordost) club RB Leipzig.

For 25 year old Subrata Pal, who had recently signed for Kolkata side Prayag United SC, this will not be his first visit to Germany. In August 2002 a young Subrata was part of the then India Under-17 national team which held a camp at the Sports School in Hennef and now he returns to the country a decade after his first visit.

At the press conference Subrata said, "I'm a fan of German team and their former goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. By God's grace if I get a chance to play in the Bundesliga my dream will come true."

"It's fair to say that German football development plans are about the best in the world at the moment. It's always been a dream for me to train in a system that pushes things to the next level."

People who simply lack the football knowledge are critical about Subrata giving a trial to a fourth division in Germany. On that Subrata answered, "I'm confident that RB Leipzig is the place where I can really push myself and can develop myself into a better and stronger player."

Subrata leaves Kolkata tomorrow night and will be in Leipzig by mid-day on Saturday. He will be in Germany until August 5 and he would then join the India preparatory camp ahead of the 2012 Nehru Cup. Subrata has gotten clearances from his new club Prayag United SC and as well as the AIFF for the trial.

New RB Leipzig head coach Alexander Zorniger said in a statement about the Indian goalkeepers visit, "We are delighted to have Subrata as a part of RB Leipzig during the off-season training. It will be a two week developmen and trial programme and we are really looking forward to it. We would like to understand during this training how we may potentially use his expertise in the future and also understand the depth of Indian football."


Here the link to the Photos: Red Bull India/Subrata Pal press conference in Kolkata

Please LIKE www.facebook.com/arunfoot to get further updates on Subrata Pal's trial in Germany along with further news on what the other Indian footballers and Players of Indian origin are doing in Europe!

Photos: Red Bull India/Subrata Pal press conference in Kolkata

Red Bull India organised a press conference in Kolkata today to formally announce the trial of Indian international goalkeeper Subrata Pal with German fourth division (Regionalliga Nordost) side RB Leipzig, a club owned by Red Bull.

Here some photos from the press conference:

Some insight on RB Leipzig & Red Bull Football

Many will only know Austrian energy drink maker Red Bull as being active in Formula 1 and adventure sports under owner Dietrich Mateschitz, but they actually own three football clubs in Austria, Germany and the United States besides running two Academies in Brazil and Ghana. With these five entities in four continents Red Bull has the biggest network of clubs/academies in the world of football under their ownership.

It all started in Salzburg in 2005, which is close to the Red Bull headquarters in Walz-Siezenheim, with the takeover of ailing SV Austria Salzburg then called SV Wüstenrot Salzburg and the club was rebranded as Red Bull Salzburg. It has won the Austrian Bundesliga a number of times, but owner Mateschitz has wanted the club to play amongst the best in the UEFA Champions League but the club has failed again and again in the qualifiers.

Only a year later Red Bull purchased the New York MetroStars in 2006 and it completely re-brand the franchise, changing the name, colours, and logo. From then on the MLS team has been known as New York Red Bulls. This was followed by the formation of the Academies of Red Bull Brasil in 2007 and Red Bull Ghana in 2008, which are supposed to work as feeder clubs to the bigger entities in Europe and North America.

In May 2009 followed the takeover of German fifth division club SSV Markranstädt and the renaming into RB Leipzig with the RB not standing for Red Bull but RasenBallsport Leipzig due to German football rules which do not allow the name of sponsors to be attached to the club name. At the time SSV Markranstädt were a local club in Leipzig playing fifth division football and with little ambitions to move higher. This changed with the Red Bull takeover as their new owners had the aim of getting the club into the top tier Bundesliga in a nine year period until 2018 with an initial investment of 100 Million Euros.

It worked well in year one under manager Tino Vogel with the club getting promoted into the fourth division. But over the last couple of years under coaches Thomas Oral and Peter Pacult with the team playing in the former 2006 World Cup stadium with a capacity of 44,345 now renamed Red Bull Arena they didn't get promoted though having the highest budget across leagues in the fourth tier of German football. This season Andreas Zorniger with some changes amongst the players has been given the task to gain promotion to the 3.Liga.

Now Indian goalkeeper Subrata Pal joins the club on a trial to show what he is capable off and if successful then Subrata could be offered a contract at RB Leipzig.

Here the article on India Keeper Subrata Pal set for German trial at RB Leipzig

India Keeper Subrata Pal set for German trial at RB Leipzig

25 year old Indian international goalkeeper Subrata Pal is set for a trial with German fourth Division (Regionalliga Nordost) club RB Leipzig, who are owned by Austrian energy drink-maker Red Bull whose Indian division has been made the trial possible.

Subrata Pal after a season of injury this summer made a move back to Kolkata from Pune FC to join high spending Prayag United SC for a salary estimated to be above Rs 1 crore (10 Million), but Subrata has always had the ambition to try to play abroad. Now he gets a second chance after a trial with now MLS club Vancouver Whitecaps in June 2010.

The Leipzig trial has been made possible by Red Bull India and once Subrata has his German visa, he will fly across with Friday/Saturday the most likely dates of travel. An original three week trial had to be cut down due to commitments back home. Subrata has got the clearance from Prayag United for the trial while the AIFF would have to clear his late arrival at the India camp for the Nehru Cup due to a longer stay in Germany until August 4/5.

More infos will be released by Red Bull India and Subrata Pal at a press conference on Thursday in Kolkata before Subrata flies across to Germany for the trial-cum-training stint.

RB Leipzig with the RB not standing for Red Bull but RasenBallsport Leipzig due to German football rules which do not allow the name of sponsors to be attached to the club name was only formed in 2009 through the takeover of SSV Markranstädt, a local club in Leipzig who were playing in the fifth division at the time. Red Bull took over the club with the aim of getting it into the top tier Bundesliga in a nine year period until 2018 with an initial investment of 100 Million Euros.

After two failed attempts to gain promotion from the fourth division this season RB Leipzig hope to achieve promotion to the 3.Liga on their way to the Bundesliga. And this will happen under new coach Andreas Zorniger with some new players signed to achieve the goal and interesting Leipzig on arrival of Zorniger fired goalkeeper Pascal Borel.

This is an article I had written two years back in June 2010 on my blog: Knowing Subrata Pal .

Rangnick & Houllier join Red Bull Football operations

Austrian energy drink maker Red Bull is best known for their Formula 1 team and their activities in adventure sports, but they are also active in football with their worldwide football operations spread across the globe in Austria, Germany, the United States, Brazil and Ghana.

But in football Red Bull, owned by the Austrian billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, have not been as successful as in other sports and now a new management is supposed to bring success to them but especially Red Bull Salzburg with German Roger Schmidt as the new coach, another German in Ralf Rangnick as the Director of Sports and Frenchman Gérard Houllier as Global Sports Director Red Bull Soccer to complete the new leadership structure within their football operations.

Roger Schmidt, who last season coached SC Paderborn to a sensational fifth place finish in 2.Bundesliga, is the new head coach of the Salzburg team; Ralf Rangnick as Director of Sports will have to look after Salzburg and German fourth division side RB Leipzig; while Gérard Houllier will have to look after Salzburg, Leipzig, MLS franchise New York Red Bulls besides the developmental academies in Brazil and Ghana.

Especially Rangnick was a much sought after coach across Europe with clubs like Tottenham Hotspurs, West Bromwich Albion, etc; but he in the end decided to join Red Bull as Director of Sports in a more management role rather then a day to day coaching job. The reason might be that Rangnick had last season left FC Schalke 04 due to a burnout syndrome and now returns to active football.

Red Bulls continuing football woes

In Formula 1 Austrian energy drink maker Red Bull are on top of the world, but in football they are far away from their ambitions to be amongst the best in the business. And if things don't go right then the people in charge get the sack at their worldwide football operations which are spread across in Austria, Germany, the United States, Ghana and Brazil.

RB Salzburg - Austria

The above happened yesterday at their Austrian football team Red Bull Salzburg, who are only third in the league behind league leaders Austria Vienna and were eliminated in the group stage from the Europa League after not making it into the UEFA Champions League. Not enough for the big bosses at Red Bull.

Dutch coach Huub Stevens was relieved of his duties with fellow Dutchman and technical director Ricardo Moniz taking over until the end of the season. Moniz will be assisted by former club player and Croatian international Niko Kovac, who has had a coaching role with the clubs youth team since retiring in 2009.

But not only the coach was fired also the Director of Sports Dietmar Beiersdorfer of Germany had to go. The club said in a statement Friday they parted company from the coach and Director of Sports by mutual consent but did not disclose further details. Both Stevens and Beiersdorfer had been at the club since 2009 and in the first season they had won the Austrian league title.

RB Leipzig - Germany

In Germany RB Leipzig has different problems altogether. In Leipzig the club last season won the German fifth division title after the takeover by Red Bull and this year the plan was to get through the fourth division while it would get more difficult in higher divisions, but as per Red Bull plans by 2017 the club should be playing in the top tier Bundesliga with an initial investment of up to 100 Million Euros to achieve that aim.

But in year two the club is facing problems as they are 10 points of the league leaders Chemnitzer FC and promotion looks unlikely. So changes are likely at the club with former German international Thomas Linke already installed as Director of Sports and a new coach looks set to take over from Thomas Oral next season. The name being linked to the job is that of Austrian Peter Pacult, who is currently the coach of Rapid Vienna.

New York Red Bulls - USA

In North American the Major League Soccer season has just started and so far things are fine with the New York Red Bulls who are looking to win titles this year with players like Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez on their roaster.

RB Leipzig name Linke as Director of Sports

The story of German fourth division club RB Leipzig is a continued story to follow in the years to come and yesterday they took another step in their development. The club has appointed former German international Thomas Linke as its Director of Sports.

RB Leipzig stands for Rasen-Ballsport Leipzig but RB also stands for the club backers Austrian energy drink maker Red Bull, who are trying to form a future Bundesliga club in the East German city of Leipzig with an investment of up to 100 Million Euros over a nine year period, but as in Germany no sponsor can attach its name to the club name they choose the RB abbreviation.

On his appointment Linke said, "I think that in the last few years in my position as assistant Director of Sports in Salzburg I have gained a lot of experience and now the right time has come for me to take on more responsibility. The project in Leipzig is a big challenge and a chance for me too."

Linke had originally joined RB Salzburg in 2005 after the club was taken over by Red Bull and in 2007 won the clubs first Austrian league title under Giovanni Trapattoni. After the title he returned to Bayern Munich to join their second team, but only a year later he retired and he was back in Salzburg but this time as part of their management as assistant Director of Sports.

The 41 year old had started his career with FC Rot-Weiss Erfurt before moving to FC Schalke 04, where he won the 1997 UEFA Cup. Thereafter he would join FC Bayern Munich with whom he won five Bundesliga titles, the 2001 UEFA Champions League and the 2001 World Club Cup. He would play 43 internationals for Germany and the highlight was the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where he finished runners-up.

Currently RB Leipzig are fourth in the Regionalliga North (4th division) 15 points off league leaders Chemnitzer FC, so promotion this season looks unlikely after the club came up from the fifth division last season.