After nine years at German Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, Oliver Mintzlaff becomes one of three new bosses at Red Bull, following in the footsteps of late founder Dietrich Mateschitz.
Mintzlaff gave the “Bild” newspaper his first interview as the new Red Bull boss – and also his last. Because the new strong man at the top of the beverage manufacturer and sports sponsor wants to make himself as rare in public as Mateschitz. “I will basically no longer give interviews,” Mintzlaff clarifies.
In an interview, the 47-year-old looks back on his time at Leipzig and in the German Bundesliga. In addition to promotion and the cup win, the best moment he remembers was a last-minute win against Leverkusen in April 2017. “It was an emotional explosion.”
His hardest moment, on the other hand, was the dismissal of coach Jesse Marsch after just five months. It was difficult to admit that it didn’t work.
Two successors wanted
Due to his move, Mintzlaff now has to look for two successors: a new CEO for RB Leipzig and a new Head of Global Soccer – a position he also held at Red Bull. After all: Leipzig will remain Mintzlaff as a member of the supervisory board. As such, however, he will observe events from afar: the German is moving to Austria, more precisely to Fuschl, where the Red Bull headquarters are located. “I will move into an apartment there. I will no longer have an office in Leipzig,” says Mintzlaff.
Not interested in other football clubs
What is the new boss up to with Red Bull? Mintzlaff does not want to reveal too much, but rejects rumors about the purchase of other football clubs, for example in England. “I can rule out that we will buy another football club. We are very satisfied with our network and are working hard to network the locations in Bragança, New York and Leipzig even better.”
Mintzlaff wants nothing to do with social media
Mintzlaff will not miss the day-to-day business: “I definitely find it too extreme and too fast-moving how people judge it,” he calls the development on social media “shameful”. He himself was able to free himself from it and have neither Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. “Nevertheless, you get these things with you, of course.”
And how much Red Bull does the new Red Bull boss actually drink? Mintzlaff: “Depending on my energy level, but mostly I need a can of Red Bull to get through the day.”
