RB Leipzig have found their new head coach in ex-Werder Breman boss Ole Werner. The 37 year-old German coach will be joining the East German club on a two-year contract as the club hopes to return to the Champions League following a disappointing campaign that sees them having to qualify for the Europa Conference League.
“We’re convinced that he’s ready to take the next step,” said Managing Director Marcel Schafer. “We’ve been following his progress closely for quite some time and are delighted that he’s chosen to join RB Leipzig. Ole has a clear footballing philosophy, which he successfully implemented during his time a Kiel and Breman. He likes to play structured, possession-based football, encourages quick transitions after winning the ball, while he also wants his teams to be pressers, tactically flexible and to play in a bold, committed and combative manner.”
Leipzig have suffered in the last year as they crashed out of the UEFA Champions League and slipped to seventh in the table. Head coach Marco Rose was relieved of duties before the end of the year, leaving Zsolt Low in charge to finish out the campaign. The club is now hopeful that with Werner they can return to qualification in Europe’s top club competition.
Werner comes with a lengthy resume for his young age. He took over the Holstein Kiel II head coaching position in 2016 with a brief stint as first team coach on an interim basis. In over 150 games, the reserve club won 89 games to just 35 losses. Eventually, Werner was promoted to first team head coach in 2019 and remained there until 2021 when he took up the top spot at Werder Breman.
With Breman he helped bring them back to the Bundesliga in the 2020-21 season where they have remained under his watch. Now he steps aside for an even bigger role with Leipzig, where expectations are that they could and should compete with the likes of Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund.
“RB Leipzig stands for a bold, attacking style of play with a clear identity,” said Werner. “The club has big goals and high expectations and this is exactly the kind of environment that convinced me and one to which I want to contribute.”
Leipzig will start their new campaign with a series of friendlies against Atalanta, RC Lens and ZFC Meuselwitz in mid July.
photo courtesy of Bundesliga