The major construction sites at RB Leipzig

After the worst Bundesliga season without a European starting place since promotion in 2016, RB Leipzig has arrived in no man's land. With the signing of Jürgen Klopp, everything should be going in the opposite direction. RB must go back to the past and fight for its DNA. Deutsche Presse-Agentur lists some of the problems at the Red Bull Group's flagship club.

Klopp's presence

BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke said of Jürgen Klopp: "I've never met a man-catcher like him." It is precisely these qualities that Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff is also looking for in the global soccer boss. So far, he has only made a few brief visits to RB Leipzig's home games and training sessions, but his primary club in the RB Group needs more of his expertise on the ground right now. After all, the problems of botched personnel policy are currently piling up on his desk in the Munich office. The biggest crisis since Leipzig's promotion to the Bundesliga in 2016 calls for the virtues he has practiced at other clubs.

Mentality problem

The statement by interim coach Zsolt Löw that "a team is also created from the individual parts" is a profound insight. At the season finale, Rose's successor Löw also took stock personally and had to recognize that one of the main problems was the lack of mentality. Many of the recently signed young professionals only see RB as a stopover. "We have to draw the right conclusions and create a culture so that the professionals don't just see the club as a stepping stone."

Search for a coach

An experienced and ambitious head coach who wants to use the potential of the highly ambitious club to win titles - something RB boss Mintzlaff is also calling for - will also need to do this. If the lure of the Champions League is missing, the new coach should at least be shown opportunities for growth. Löw, who is returning to the Klopp team as Head of Soccer Development, pointed to the successful examples of young, hungry players at Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal London.

Leadership

Leipzig urgently need leadership - on and off the pitch. After the renewed injury to Xaver Schlager, there was no controlling element in midfield with ball security, strength in tackles and overview. The highly-rated Xavi Simons shone at times with goals and tricks. However, he is still a long way from a responsible playmaker role. Off the pitch, too, there is a lack of a doer who, alongside the coach, demands discipline and club identity around the clock, as "head teacher" Ralf Rangnick used to do.

Intensify the search for "blue chips"

Rangnick called talented diamonds in the rough "blue chips". He brought talents such as Dayot Upamecano, Ibrahima Konaté, Naby Keita and Christopher Nkunku to Leipzig. The scouting department has recently impressed with quantity rather than quality. In the current transfer window, they are also stuck with old problems such as the many loan players around Timo Werner and co. who all have to be sold with negative figures. Although a promising midfielder in Ezechiel Banzuzi (contract until 2030) is already fixed, the team also needs experienced top players, such as Emil Forsberg for years, as pillars of a young team.