The congenial Leipzig offensive duo Dani Olmo (left) and Christopher Nkunku are also important in the second leg in San Sebastian.
Photo: imago images/Photo mode
When RasenBallsport Leipzig plays at the Estadio Anoeta in San Sebastian this Thursday evening, the soccer players from Saxony can expect what is probably the most emotional backdrop of the season. 34,000 Basques will push their club forward in the second leg of the round of 16, around 300 Bundesliga fans will try to resist. This knockout game with a real European atmosphere after the 2-2 win in the first leg is a yardstick for RB Leipzig: How solid is the team after two months under new coach Domenico Tedesco?
Unlike three and a half years ago under Ralf Rangnick, Leipzig do not see the Europa League as an annoying additional burden, but as a chance for the title. After the dismissal of Tedesco’s predecessor Jesse Marsch, the playful course correction with more controlled combination play and the positive turnaround in the Bundesliga, RB is longing for the first major title in the club’s twelve and a half year history. In addition to the chance in the DFB Cup, the club also wants to have a say in the awarding of the trophy on May 18 in Seville in the top-class Europa League. “We want to be successful, and that means titles in Leipzig,” Tedesco said before the first leg.
At RB, this striving is embodied in particular by two protagonists who are currently demonstrating their thirst for success week after week and who are making the difference: Christopher Nkunku and Dani Olmo. The two offensive stars have carried RB Leipzig through the second half of the season so far. The successful specialist Olmo, who at the age of just 23 has already won eight national titles with Dinamo Zagreb and the U21 European Championship, fails to emphasize in every interview that he also intends to expand his title collection with RB. The Spanish international knows what is needed for such a title coup: “The team is the most important thing, you need all the players, the dynamics and the mood have to be right.” That is now after the “difficult moments that we had to overcome”. the case again at RB Leipzig.
Nkunku already celebrated his breakthrough under Marsch and has discovered scoring for himself in a new, more central and offensive position than under Julian Nagelsmann. He has already scored 22 goals and provided 13 assists this season. Olmo, on the other hand, only succeeded in the second half of the season under Tedesco after the European Championships, participation in the Olympics and the month-long injury break that followed. In the 6-1 win against Hertha last Sunday, Nkunku scored twice, Olmo scored one goal, provided two assists and also provided the assist before Nkunku’s game-winning penalty. No doubt: In this form, this duo is one of the best offensive teams in Europe. “They radiate enthusiasm, have wit and do the extraordinary in the last third,” praised Tedesco before the game in northern Spain. “As a coach, we can plan so much tactically – a lot of things on the field cannot be planned,” the coach admitted. In the end, it’s all about the details, “whether you play the pass, the acceptance works and the shot on goal fits.”
Nkunku and Olmo are currently doing all of this to perfection. The Frenchman, who is good at dribbling – to the astonishment of many still not a national player – can hardly be separated from the ball, always positioned correctly and ice-cold even in technically demanding final situations. Hardly any player in the Bundesliga is more complete than he, who can also convert free-kicks and even hit a header. And on a good day, Olmo plays such precise and imaginative passes that his colleagues can’t help but score. In addition, the privately rather introverted highly gifted, who at most get at each other’s hair about taking a free kick, are free of affectations. Domenico Tedesco emphasizes that their art only works, »if the team also works. The two are fully accepted in the team and have a very clean character.«
Incidentally, Italian-born Tedesco sought advice from Juventus Turin coach Massimiliano Allegri during his summer and autumn break on how to deal with up-and-coming world stars like Olmo and Nkunku. The 36-year-old also adopted his credo at RB Leipzig: “A good coach doesn’t interfere with the development of a player.” Of course, the coach works with the noble technicians on offensive processes, routes and positioning, but basically it’s about giving the two enough freedom to give in order to be able to develop in front of the opponent’s goal. “These guys are good, they will go their own way,” predicts Tedesco.
Both players are already in such high demand that Europe’s top clubs will knock on the door in the summer. Nkunku already announced via “L’Equipe” that he would think about and talk to his family, advisors and RB about a possible change after the end of the season. But unlike Dayot Upamecano or Ibrahima Konaté last year, Leipzig have all the trumps in their hands, because neither Nkunku nor Olmo have exit clauses in their contracts. First of all, however, the people of Leipzig can still enjoy the extraordinary French-Spanish co-production for three months. Leaving the Europa League early and not seeing either of them on the international stage would be a waste.
