The next milestone for RB Leipzig: On Sunday, the women's team of the club founded in 2009 will start its first Bundesliga season. Coach Saban Uzun's team will take on 1. FC Köln at 2 p.m. - a win would not be a big surprise. Because as with the men the requirements are high, in the medium term it is to go under the Top 3 of the twelve-player league.
The new arrivals: One got oneself above all Bundesliga experience. Defensive player Nina Räcke (SGS Essen) has already 52 games in the statistics, the attackers Lydia Andrade (SV Meppen) and Sandra Starke (VfL Wolfsburg) together even 194. Especially Starke, who has already scored 44 goals in the Bundesliga, should take on a leadership role. "Sandra is a very important player. She comes to us as a leadership player, of course. She does us good, brings a lot of experience," Uzun told MDR. The Austrian trio Julia Magerl, Michela Croatto (both defense) and Katja Wienerroither (attack) already have international match experience.
The preparation: the 2-0 against the Swedish record champion FC Rosengard at the end of August made people sit up and take notice. "Some things we have already implemented well, in others we have seen what we still lack against top teams and what we will work on," said Uzun. Especially since Leipzig had just started its preparation and the club from Malmö was about to start the second half of the season.
The dress rehearsal: Before the start of the Bundesliga, RB had to compete in the cup. In the previous year, as a second-division club, they only just failed in the semifinals against SC Freiburg. Now, with a 7-0 win over second-league leaders Gütersloh, they are back in the round of 16. So everything is set for the start, Uzun does not want to set himself too high goals publicly. "We do well to take one step at a time. Everything else are strategic issues that lie on other desks. We want to start well in the league," the 30-year-old said.
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