INTERVIEW: David Wagner outlines two key missions as RB Leipzig academy manager

LEIPZIG (Bulinews): After coaching Borussia Dortmund II, Huddersfield Town, Schalke 04, Young Boys and Norwich City, David Wagner embarked on a new challenge when he was named RB Leipzig academy manager last summer.

Speaking to Bulinews.com during a media round in Leipzig recently, Wagner explained that he was hired with two clear objectives, the first involving something the club has never achieved before.

While RB Leipzig are well known for giving young talent opportunities, none of their breakout stars, such as Josko Gvardiol, Dominik Szoboszlai and Benjamin Sesko, have come directly from the club's own academy – and Wagner is determined to change that.

“I was told I'd been hired for two reasons. Firstly, to do what we've never done before - to establish an academy player in our first team. And not just for two or three games, but permanently, maybe for three or four seasons, playing 100-150 games," Wagner told Bulinews.com.

His second key task is developing coaches ready to step into roles across Red Bull's multi-club network, which includes New York Red Bulls, Brazil's Red Bull Bragantino, Japan's RB Omiya Ardija, and minority partner Paris FC in France.

“We have to make sure that when a search begins for a coach within our multi-club system, we can raise our hand and say we have one ready in our academy,” Wagner explained, adding that his work will ultimately be judged on these two goals.

“Obviously, this will not happen tomorrow or next year, but it’s a long-term aim we have together,” he said.

Lacking a proven track record

Founded in 2009, RB Leipzig have grown rapidly, and as Wagner notes, it has been difficult for the academy to keep pace with the first team, which played European football eight years in a row before this season.

“We are super young. We don’t have 50, 60, 70 or 100 years of experience in football. We’ve grown very fast, and our first team has been very successful. So it’s totally normal that not every department was able to move forward as quickly as our first team,” Wagner said.

Even with the infrastructure now in place to develop top talent, the club lacks a proven track record of producing players who make the leap from the academy to regular first-team football, as Wagner pointed out.

“We don’t have a proven record of bringing in a 15-year-old, developing him over the next three to four years, and helping him step into the first team at 19. So if an agent calls and you have a 15-year-old, maybe the player will consider Dortmund, Liverpool or Bayern instead - they’ve all shown this pathway. We haven’t done that often enough,” Wagner admitted.

Creating opportunities

So what does it take to change that? According to Wagner, several factors need to come together for an academy product to make the desired leap.

“He has to be a top player in terms of both quality and mindset. You need a coach who is brave enough to give young kids a chance as well. Every established Bundesliga player today had that opportunity at some point,” Wagner explained.

“You also need a sporting director who builds a squad with spots for academy players, so that the coach can see the player in training and have a real chance to fall in love with him. Then, of course, the moment has to arise - through results, injuries or schedule - so that the player finally gets his opportunity. If all these factors come together, hopefully we can create that moment in the future.”

While the 54-year-old didn't want to name RB Leipzig's most promising academy players, he expressed confidence in the current talent pool.

“We have players in the building already – and I’m sure we will continue to sign and develop players in the future – who I believe can make it. I’m super confident that it will happen with the players we have in place,” Wagner stressed.