RB Leipzig, sister club to New York Red Bulls, will partake in a preseason tour of the United States and Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. will be one of their stops. The UEFA Champions League club will play Aston Villa on July, 31st as they hope to build on their strong year.
“This will be our first preseason outside of Europe,” said Leipzig general manager Johann Plenge. “With New York, we decided to go to a key target market for our club. RB Leipzig excites soccer fans both domestically and internationally with its unique story, which as taken us from the fifth division to the Champions League.”
Leipzig have climbed the international ladder rather quickly, making the Champions League and finishing second in their first year in the Bundesliga. From there they have been in European competition every year since being promoted to the first division. Players such as Timo Werner, Naby Keita, Tyler Adams, Christopher Nkunku, Dominik Szoboszlai and others have come through the club and gone on to be major names around the world.
Current New York Red Bulls captain Emil Forsberg spent a majority of his career with Leipzig, scoring 48 goals in over 200 appearances for the club. He, like many others, are excited to see the German club expanding beyond Germany this summer.
“All of us at RBNY are really excited that RB Lepzig are coming to New York for its first US tour,” said Forsberg. “It will be a special reunion with players, coaches and staff for me that I wasn’t expecting so soon.”