Ahead of the Topspiel against Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig has released sporting director Max Eberl. … [+]
Bundesliga side RB Leipzig made the surprising move on Friday to dismiss managing director Max Eberl with immediate effect. The dismissal comes just 24 hours before Leipzig is set to host league leaders Bayern Munich, the very club Eberl has been linked to dating back all the way to his time as the sporting director of Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach.
“RB Leipzig have relieved Max Eberl of his duties with immediate effect,” a statement on the club’s homepage read. “His failure to commit to the club has led to us making this decision. It has nothing to do with the squad’s rebuild or results on the pitch. Sporting director Rouven Schröder will take over. We would like to thank Max for his work and wish him all the best for the future.”
At first glance, this decision is a big surprise. But at second glance this has been coming for some time. Although Eberl only joined the club officially last winter and then steered the club through a difficult rebuild, Leipzig wanted a greater commitment from their managing director, who was constantly being linked to the Bayern job.
One factor was certainly that Eberl continued to live full-time in Munich rather than in Leipzig, leaving the day-to-day operations to Schröder. Another factor has been the constant news stories about former Bayern president Uli Hoeneß wanting to install Eberl as the new board member of sport and long-term perhaps even as the club’s new CEO.
The latest of those stories was published in Bild and Sport Bild earlier this week. The story suggested that Eberl was likely to join Bayern and that the supervisory board would have no problem approving the move. Furthermore, Bild also wrote that Eberl wasn’t going to turn down the move either.
Max Eberl has been linked to the Bayern Munich job for some time. (Photo by Christian … [+]
That story ultimately seems to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. The bosses at Leipzig wanted clarity going forward and without Eberl committing long-term, decided to move on ahead of the Topspiel against Bayern on Saturday.
Although on the surface that development seems shocking. The move highlights that Leipzig’s project is above the desire of individuals. This season the Red Bulls look like a squad that could seriously challenge Bayern for the Bundesliga title and the Eberl story would have been a distraction.
In fact, no other team in Germany knows the dark arts of distraction better than Bayern. It is no coincidence that the Eberl story was leaked in the buildup to the two clubs meeting on Saturday. The story would have been there all season as the two club’s battle it out for the title.
But with surgical precision, Leipzig put a stop to what would have been a storyline and distraction for the club all year. Sacking Eberl will certainly hurt but in Schröder the club already has a successor in place and can now focus on challenging Bayern for titles this season.
Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth and on Threads: @manuveth