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Writer's pictureTristan Figueras

Red Bull: Symbol of Commercialization or Innovation?

Hello and welcome to Early Doors Football! Following my previous article on Multi-Club Networks, I’ve decided to take a deeper look at Red Bull Football more specifically. They have a very interesting history on and off the field, and seemingly encapsulate all the positives and negatives that Football Group’s have to offer. In this article, I am going to explore both the historical and sporting practices of the Organization, as looking through a wide lens allows us to understand their actions and philosophy on a deeper level.


Beginnings:


The late Dietrich Mateschitz was born in Austria in 1944, where he was raised and attended University. The Austrian attended the Vienna University of Economics, where he got his degree in Marketing. He founded Red Bull, following his discovery of an energy drink by the name of Krating Daeng on a business trip to Thailand. He quickly struck a deal with the late Chaleo Yoovidhya, who had created the drink through his company TC Pharmaceuticals. Both of them invested roughly $500,000 into founding Red Bull in Austria, which would sell and distribute an energy drink with a slightly modified formula from Chaleo’s energy drink.

The drink was an immediate success following its release in 1987, and expanded throughout Europe before exploding in the United States in the 1990s. Mateschitz’s Marketing background proved immensely valuable, with the clever advertising campaigns and media image being key for their growth. While their key demographic may be a no-brainer now, when Red Bull was starting out, it was not so clear. They focused primarily on youth and adventure-seekers, with the bulk of their advertising and marketing going towards extreme sports and entertainment. Red Bull used promotional cars and even aircrafts throughout the years, and now have athletes sponsored (or are the sponsors) of nearly every extreme sport you can imagine, alongside owning multiple racing teams, football teams, and even an ice hockey team.


By providing this context, it is very clear that Red Bull is not merely an energy drink. They do not sponsor all these sports teams and athletes for the sake of it; they understand the power these methods have to create a mental image of “Red Bull” in someone’s mind, in addition to the sheer financial wealth they can access by being involved in Football and F1. Unwelcome: Red Bull’s Journey Into Football


Red Bull began their foray in 2005, when purchasing SV Austria Salzburg. I’m going to bring in a brief excerpt from my last article, where I discussed their history.

In Austria, SV Austria Salzburg (known under multiple names due to various sponsorships throughout the years), was formed in 1933 thanks to the merging of two Salzburg teams. The team had a tumultuous history, where it bounced between the first and second division, until finding consistent improvement in the 70s, where they made it to the UEFA Cup and the Austrian Cup final. The 80s saw their fortunes return to normal, before making huge strides in the 90s, winning their first Austrian League title. I say all this to illustrate that this club had decades of history and fan culture, this was not some start up team where you could easily argue becoming a piece of a multi-club puzzle could help them push on. In 2005, Red Bull came in and took over the team and everything was changed; from team colors, to the logo, even the entire staff. Red Bull even insisted this was an entirely new team with NO history, although the Austrian federation still recognizes them as the successor to SV Austria Salzburg (Footballhistory.org).


Expanding their football in Austria, they created FC Liefering by purchasing USK Anif and signing a cooperation agreement with FC Pasching. FC Liefering is essentially RB Salzburg’s second team, playing almost entirely youth players with the vision of promoting them to Salzburg. Currently, their oldest player in their squad is 19 (Transfermarkt), with some players being as young as 16. The Austrian clubs are essentially a network within a network, with Liefering taking in numerous RB Salzburg players on loan and giving them professional minutes.


As we will see is a common theme, few were excited by Red Bull’s introduction. There were protests against their initial investment, which were unfortunately in vain. There were concerns across Austria and Germany, about the precedent that could be set by a conglomerate buying a football club and wiping its history. When the club’s colors were changed from violet to red and white, he responded that the criticism was “kindergarten stuff” and eluded that all that truly mattered was the team’s success. To fan the flame, supporters who were wearing violet were denied entry to the club’s first preseason match.


SV Austria Salzburg’s ultras ended up refounding their club the year after the takeover, beginning their journey in the 7th tier. They have since risen to the second tier, but were relegated due to financial constraints tied to their playing license (which was originally bought by Red Bull when the takeover occurred). This should come as no shock, given Mateschitz’s callus response to the pushback.


During all of this, they also purchased the Metrostars and rebranded them the New York Red Bulls. The Metrostars did not have an illustrious history, but were certainly a welcome part of MLS. Their inaugural squad housed two current MLS coaches, in Peter Vermes and Giovanni Savarese. Compared to their entry into Austria, and later in Germany, there was not significant pushback. There were fans that expressed discontent in online forums, questioning if Red Bull’s investment would “undermine the public credibility” of the league, while many fan’s primary concern was the potential wiping of their history (Front Row Soccer). All in all, the deal went through rather smoothly. It is far more common for teams to rebrand or relocate (which I still cannot comprehend) in American sports, so perhaps the idea of a corporation buying a team was not as absurd as it would be in Europe.


Red Bull had a short-lived expansion into Ghana, where it housed a professional academy. It was abolished in 2014, at which point it combined with two other academies in the area. There has always been a sense that there is a plethora of unfound talent in Africa, so this was a reasonable step in their long-term plans, but clearly it was not executed well. The club played in the top flight, but its new form (West African Football Academy) has since been relegated to the lower divisions.


Before setting their sights on Germany, they looked to plant their flag in Brazil. They founded Red Bull Brasil in 2007, and began play in the 4th tier of Sao Paulo’s football division. Long-term, their goal was to make it to the top flight. This did not happen, and after 12 years, they formed a partnership with Club Atletico Bragantino, who were already in the top flight. Red Bull Brasil is now known as “Red Bull Bragantino II”. A lot can be said about Red Bull not having success, then purchasing/partnering with a top flight team to corner-cut to their goals, but I will just say I audibly laughed when I read about this. Perhaps they thought their financial power would be enough to run over the competition, but clearly they miscalculated. They must have learned from their mistakes, as their German side had near opposite fortunes.


Red Bull Descend Upon Germany


In order to avoid rewriting the same story, I will include an excerpt from my previous article to begin the discussions on RB Leipzig.


After searching across Germany (always with the preference of a team in Leipzig), they were met with disinterest from owners and fans alike. When Red Bull’s interest in Fortuna Dusseldorf became public, fans immediately held intense protests; similar pushback occurred as Red Bull flirted with St. Pauli and FC Sachsen Leipzig. Ironically, St. Pauli fans had already joined in protests over Red Bull’s takeover of SV Austria Salzburg.


Finally, Red Bull struck a deal with SSV Markranstädt (Like Salzburg, known under many names) was founded following World War II. The team bounced around the divisions of East German football, other than a first place finish in 1947-48. Once Germany was reunified, they remained anywhere between the 4th and 6th divisions of German football. Like most other fans across Germany, the fans were unhappy. Following the takeover and complete rebrand, they “refounded” the club, and have been playing at Stadion Am Bad in front of 5,500 fans. They are still considered an “affiliate” of RB Leipzig. Red Bull had to jump through a tremendous amount of legal hoops to finally purchase the team. German football holds a “50+1 Rule”, which states members of the club must hold a controlling stake; this prevents corporations like Red Bull or perhaps in the current landscape, States, from purchasing controlling stakes over teams in Germany. The only true exception is for businesses that have owned a stake in a team for over 20 years, at which point they can apply for an exemption. Without going into painful detail, Red Bull was able to circumvent this by purchasing SSV Markranstädt’s playing license and placing Red Bull employees or collaborators as members. Lastly, there is a rule in Germany stating a team cannot be named after a corporation. Almost mocking the German Football Authorities, they named the club “RasenBallspor Leipzig” (shortened to RB Leipzig), translating literally to “Lawn Ball Sports Leipzig”.


There should be a lot of parallels evident between their entry into German and Austria football: fans were skeptical from the beginning, largely due to the wiping of history. Supporters of other clubs, even in recent years, have voiced their frustration with RB Leipzig, with banners mocking the club and even boycotts from supporters traveling to away games occurring.

Much like in Brazil, their goal was to make it into the top division in 10 years. Where they failed in Brazil, they succeeded with flying colors in Germany. Starting in the 5th tier, they flew up the divisions, making it to the Bundesliga for the 2016-17 season. In their first season in the top flight, they managed to finish second, qualifying for the Champions League. Since making it to the top flight, they have finished in the top three in five of their seven seasons. Talent Factory: How RB Produces Talent


The list of players that Red Bull teams have played a part in producing is long and full of world class talent. Their extensive scouting network goes a long way in helping them find the top talent, but their dedication to playing and developing the young players is the difference maker. RB Salzburg’s entire squad consists of players that are 19 or 20 (bar some outliers), and RB Leipzig has had one of the youngest squads in the Bundesliga since their promotion.

Being able to get minutes for a top team in their respective league is crucial, and when you consider that the Red Bull teams are essentially mainstays in European competition, these youngsters have opportunities to test themselves against some of the top teams in Europe. When you have a platform like this, in combination with the brilliant scouting network at the Group’s disposal, it's a match made in heaven.


Red Bull teams have a distinctive style of play, which makes the transition between teams a lot more straightforward for players moving up the ladder. Coaches have liberties to adjust the philosophy, but there are overarching principles that remain consistent in most cases. Red Bull is known for their high intensity pressing and quick transitions, broadly speaking. These ideas are most often carried out in a 4222 or 41212 formation, with RB looking to pack the center of the pitch to create turnovers and transition quickly. Formations are not the most important aspect though, it’s the principles that make these transfers smoother. When these players get the same messages and signals that they got at their previous club, it allows them to assimilate far quicker, despite the more challenging opponents they may face.


The top of the food chain, Red Bull Leipzig, take huge advantage of this. They’ve spent roughly $190 million (transfermarkt) on Red Bull Salzburg players, with some of their most notable players coming from their sister-club. If these signings progress like they hope, they can move the player on for huge profits after a short period of time. They’ve doubled their money on Dominik Szoboszlai and Dayot Upamecano, which perhaps makes these players the perfect example of the Red Bull system. Szoboszlai was bought for $500k from a club in Hungary, and after moving through Salzburg and Leipzig, they sold him for over $70 million to Liverpool. At the end of the day, that is the Red Bull system in full flow.


That is all for today. Really loved looking into the history of Red Bull football; it presents a lot of interesting ideas about fan culture and the impact of the increased monetization of football. Where there are questionable acts off the field, their on the field product is hard to be disputed. Many of the brightest young talents are products of Red Bull; the next superstar is likely already in their ranks waiting to explode.


Thank you as always for reading, feedback is always appreciated. Have a lovely day.

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