‘Red Bull gives you wings?’ In Leipzig, they certainly think so. The energy drink giants took over the licence of a local amateur club in 2009 and created RB Leipzig. In no time, the club grew into the most hated club in Germany. German football fans, who love their traditions, see the club as the death of football. In the meantime, RB Leipzig has become one of the country's best clubs, and on its journey, the city of Leipzig has embraced their new football club. Initially, RB Leipzig was met with a lot of scepticism, but the inhabitants of Leipzig now see it as East Germany's answer to the big clubs from the west.

Zentralstadion was the stadium of the GDR in a time that you didn't see much from football behind the Iron Curtain. In typical Eastern European design, the stadium had a running track, giant, uncovered stands and floodlights that could light up the entire city. It could host 100,000 comrades and was the home of the biggest sports matches in the GDR. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the stadium, and football in general, got into decay in the east of the country.

Around the turn of the century, it was decided to revamp the Zentralstadion, and in quite a special way: They were going to build a new stadium inside the old one, in view of the upcoming 2006 World Cup. A permanent resident didn't come until RB Leipzig was created and they were in need of a bigger stadium.

The surroundings make the Red Bull Arena so special. The silhouette of the Zentralstadion has remained, hence why you enter the stadium through bridges. The old main buildings of the stadiums are still being used. When you stand in front of the stadium, you have absolutely no clue that behind those old walls, you will find a relatively modern arena.

Across the water next to the Red Bull Arena you'll find the RB Training Center, the training ground of RB Leipzig. The youth plays their home matches here and the first team trains here. On the odd occasion, they play friendly matches here too, which are usually open to fans.