After a few previously scheduled games were cancelled due to safety issues, RB Leipzig played its debut match on the 10th of July 2009, in a friendly game against Landesliga team SV Bannewitz. The match took place in the Stadion am Bad in Markranstadt and concluded with the score 5-0 in favor of RB Leipzig. The club had its first match in competition on the 31st of July, 2009 in the initial round of the Saxony Cup against VfK Blau-Weiss Leipzig. After switching teams, RB Leipzig played as the home team and took the game by a score of 5-0. The team then began its league debut with an away game with FC Carl Zeiss Jena II on the 8th of August, 2009. The game ended in a draw.
As the season progressed, the season RB Leipzig suffered its first loss on the 13th of September, 2009 in a game in which they were defeated by Budissa Bautzen. Despite some minor setbacks the club was able to win the title of Herbstmeister with a first position after the first second half of 2009/10 season. The team was stronger in the second part of the season signing the veteran midfielder and two. Bundesliga footballer Timo Rost from Energie Cottbus in January of 2010. The team was able to secure first spot during the 2009-10 NOFV-Oberliga Sud at the 25th gameday, and thus earned advancement to the 2011-11 Regionalliga Nord. The team concluded the season with a remarkable goal differential of 74-17, with only two losses. The playing permit to play in the Regionalliga was given to the DFB on the 4th of May, 2010. RB Leipzig targeted a place in the 2010-11 DFB-Pokal which could be won by winning in the 2009-10 Saxony Cup. The team made it to the quarterfinals of the Saxony Cup, but was defeated by FSV Zwickau on 13 November 2009.
The chairman of the club, Andreas Saldo, left the club in the month of January and was replaced by former Hamburger SV sporting director and current sporting director for the general Red Bull football commitment Dietmar Beiersdorfer. A day after the final game of the 2009-10 campaign, Beiersdorfer dismissed the head coach Tino Vogel as well as the assistant director of coaching Lars Weissenberger and sporting director Joachim Krug from their positions. This was done following Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz announced a change to the strategy. Based on the new strategy, RB Leipzig was going be the main project of the commitment to football of the firm, instead the former FC Red Bull Salzburg. Tomas Oral was announced as the new head coach on the 18th of June 2010.
Players Christian Mittenzwei, Sebastian Hauck, Stefan Schumann, Toni Jurascheck and Michael Lerchl did not receive new contracts until the next Regionalliga season The two players Frank Rabsch, Ronny Kujat and two others ended their careers.
Prior to joining the Regionalliga the club had two significant changes at the club. The club transferred the third, second, and fourth teams with SSV Markranstadt. To replace the reserve team the club took the first team from ESV Delitzsch as its reserve team and also purchased its playing rights for Bezirksliga Leipzig. The first team was relocated from Stadion am Bad in Markranstadt and was moved to an arena called the Zentralstadion in Leipzig the new venue for their home games. The venue in 2006 FIFA World Cup venue was also named Red Bull Arena. The official opening of Red Bull Arena was celebrated on July 24, 2010 by playing an informal match against German Vice-champions FC Schalke 04 in front of 21,566 fans. The game ended in the team losing 2-1 to RB Leipzig. The first team played their final match on the Stadion am Bad six days later , on the 30th of July in a friendly game against Hertha BSC. The match was a 2-1 victory in favor of RB Leipzig.
The 2011-2011 Regionalliga season kicked off with a string of draws. The first on August 6, 2010. The match was against Turkiyemspor Berlin in front of 4,028 fans on the Red Bull Arena. The first win was on the 4th matchday of the season, an away game in a match against Holstein Kiel, which ended with a 2-2 score to RB Leipzig. The first win at home came right after, on the 5th matchday in the match against 1. FC Magdeburg, which ended at a score of 2-1 to RB Leipzig. After a slow start to the season the club began to chase Chemnitzer FC, which was thought to be a possibility to be promoted. The end of the season, RB Leipzig confirmed its ambitions to be promoted with the addition of Brazilian midfielder Thiago Rockenbach. The club had also signed forward Carsten Kammlott who was regarded as promising as a young talent and well-known Leipzig native defensive player, Tim Sebastian, during the summer.
The club completed its inaugural campaign in the Regionalliga with a 4th position which meant that it was not able to secure promotion. Under the direction of coach Tomas Oral, the club won the 2010-11 Saxony Cup after defeating Chemnitzer FC by 1-0 at the end of the game the 1st of June 2011, in the presence of 13,958 fans on the Red Bull Arena. With the winning of the 2010-11 Saxony Cup, the club took home its first title in the history of the club. It also qualified for participation at the 2011-12 DFB-Pokal. Since the club was not able to capitalize on promotions during the second quarter of the 2010-11 season Peter Pacult from Rapid Wien was named director of the team for 2011-12, on May 2011. At the same time, the club announced that the sporting director Thomas Linke had been released from his post, having only been in the position for 10 weeks since February 2011. There was speculation in the media that there was a connection to the appointment by Pacult and the resignation of Linke.
There were also a few players who were dropped from the team, among those who left were Lars Muller, Sven Neuhaus, Thomas Klasener and Nico Frommer who all took part in the earlier Saxony Cup final. Alongside Daniel Rosin, Timo Rost and Benjamin Bellot, only three players from the former Oberliga team remain as part of the squad for the 2012-2013 Regionalliga season, while Former international Ingo Hertzsch was fourth player remained at the club. Hertzsch had his professional career ended in the season 2010-11, however, he was later invited to join his reserve squad, RB Leipzig II, as well as the RB Leipzig business operation. On the 29th of July, the 29th of July in 2011, RB Leipzig made its debut in the DFB-Pokal in front of 31,212 fans in the Red Bull Arena. The team was able to knock Bundesliga Club VfL Wolfsburg out of the first round of the competition, beating VfL Wolfsburg 3-2, thanks to a hat-trick from Daniel Frahn. They were eliminated from the following round, losing 1-0 to FC Augsburg. This year's Regionalliga season witnessed the biggest ever win for the club in which RB Leipzig defeated SV Wilhelmshaven 8-2 on February 19th, 2012. After a decisive draw of 2-2 with VfL Wolfsburg II at the 33rd matchday, the team did not get promoted to the next round during the Regionalliga which ended the season 3rd.
The 2012-13 season of the newly reformed Regionalliga Nordost began with major personnel changes. A former Schalke 04 head coach Ralf Rangnick was appointed the new director of sports. With his arrival the head coach was replaced Peter Pacult with former SG Sonnenhof Grossaspach coach Alexander Zorniger. The season was more prosperous than the two seasons before it. The club was awarded the title of Herbstmeister just two matchdays left in the initial half of the season after beating FSV Zwickau by 1-0 away. The team won the first spot during the 2013-13 Regionalliga Nordost at the 18th matchday, following the fact that second-placed team FC Carl Zeiss Jena lost an encounter in the match against Berliner AK 07 on 7 May 2013. As the result, the team was unable to surpass RB.
It was the 2012-13 Saxony Cup was another success. The team reached its final twice in its history and, just like in 2011 the opposition in the final was Chemnitzer FC. The team took the title on May 15 with a score of 4-2 before a crowd of 16,864 in the Red Bull Arena. The number of fans in the arena reached a new record for the Saxony Cup final, breaking the previous record set by 2011. With the success of taking home this year's Saxony Cup, the club was also able to take part at the 2013-14 DFB-Pokal. In the 2012-13 Regionallig Nordost, RB Leipzig received a spot in the qualification process for the 3. Liga. The team played against Sportfreunde Lotte from the Regionalliga West. RB Leipzig won the first match on May 29th, 2013 by the score of 2-0. The match took place at the Red Bull Arena in front of 30,104 fans the number of fans who established a new record for games in the Fourth Division.
The second match was played on June 2 2013 and finished 2-2 following two goals against RB Leipzig during extra time. The result signified it was the first time that RB Leipzig had finally won promotion to the 3. Liga after having played for three years in Regionalliga. In 2013-14, RB Leipzig made its first appearance in the 3. Liga in club history. They has signed Anthony Jung from FSV Frankfurt, Tobias Willers from Sportfreunde Lotte, Joshua Kimmich from the U19 team of VfB Stuttgart, Andre Luge from FSV Zwickau, Christos Papadimitriou from AEK Athens. Yussuf Poulsen of Lyngby BK and Denis Thomalla from TSG Hoffenheim from 1899 during the summer.
RB Leipzig was eliminated by FC Augsburg in the first round of the 2013-14 DFB-Pokal on the 2nd of August, 2013, after losing 2-0 in the Red Bull Arena. The loss brought an end to a long-running series without a loss in games that were competitive. It was the 2013-14 season. Liga saw a much more positive beginning. The team took the lead in the first game with Hallescher FC away, by 11-0 on the 19th of July and maintained an unbeaten streak until the 31st of August, after which the team was beaten 2 to the first-placed team SV Wehen Wiesbaden away. 5 October 2013 RB Leipzig again met the first-placed team. SV Wehen Wiesbaden had lost its first-place spot to 1. FC Heidenheim only one week after losing to RB Leipzig. 1. FC Heidenheim would defend it until the season's conclusion. RB Leipzig defeated 1. FC Heidenheim by 2-0 after an impressive performance in the Voith-Arena and moved up to third. The winter break was when players Christos Papadimitriou Juri Judt, Carsten Kammlott and Bastian Schulz departed the team. The squad were joined by Diego Demme from SC Paderborn 07, Federico Palacios Martinez from VfL Wolfsburg, Mikko Sumusalo from HJK Helsinki, and Georg Teigl from FC Red Bull Salzburg.
After losing 1-2 to MSV Duisburg on 1 February 2014 the team was unable to ever concede a single loss for the remainder of the season. A thrilling battle with SV Darmstadt 98 appeared, with both teams fighting for vital second position. The two teams played each other on the 35th matchday on April 19, 2014. RB Leipzig came out as the victor, defeating SV Darmstadt 98 by 1-0 in front of 39147 spectators on the Red Bull Arena. RB Leipzig secured the second position and was directly promoted into the 2. Bundesliga just two weeks later after beating the team that was last in the standings 1. FC Saarbrucken 5-1 in front of a near sold-out Red Bull Arena on 3 May 2014. The 42,713 people who attended recorded a record for the club.
In the end, despite finishing in second place RB Leipzig won promotion to the 2. Bundesliga which was the very first club since the inception to the 3. Liga to gain promotion up to 2. Bundesliga in just one season. After promotion into the 2. Bundesliga The organization responsible for licensing had changed. It was no longer the DFB and was instead it was the German Football League (DFL). The DFL released its first decision regarding licensing on the 22nd of April, 2014. RB Leipzig was to be granted a license for during the 2014-15. Bundesliga season but only subject to specific conditions. The club was criticized for having did not have enough participation and that the management of the club was too concentrated on the handful of players as well as that it wasn't distinct sufficient of Red Bull GmbH. To guarantee independence and increase participation to increase participation, the DFL established three conditions that the club was required to fulfill in order to receive an official license for the 2014-2015 2. Bundesliga season.] One of the conditions was to change the crest as the crest was too similar to the logo of Red Bull GmbH. Red Bull GmbH. Another obligation was to change the structure of the club's administrative bodies. The third requirement was to reduce cost of membership and to open the club to new members. The German legal publication Legal Tribune Online assessed all three of the requirements formulated in DFL as being DFL as legally inconclusive.
RB Leipzig filed an appeal on the 30th of April, 2014. The Sporting Director Ralf Rangnick was interviewed by the media and expressed his desire to negotiate with the DFL and said that what is important is not what's written on the shirt, it's rather what is inside. The appeal was rescinded in a second ruling by the DFL on May 8th, 2014. Red Bull GmbH owner Dietrich Mateschitz has spoken out in the media outlets, and criticized the decision of the DFL. The requirements were described by him as the equivalent of a "decapitation demand" and firmly rejected a second season with the 3. Liga and, in the end, threatened to stop this project Leipzig in the event that the license was not granted.
RB Leipzig filed a second appeal on May 12, 2014. It was reported that the DFL licensing commission was scheduled to take a decision regarding the appeal again on May 15 2014, and then make their final decisions on May 28th 2014. Director of Sporting Ralf Rangnick said that the club is in discussions regarding representatives from DFL and expressed confidence in the license. On May 15, 2014, an agreement was made. The compromise required that the club was required redesign its logo and ensure that its management was not tied to Red Bull GmbH.
The club signed several players prior to the 2014-15 season. Among the list is Rani Khedira from VfB Stuttgart, Lukas Klostermann from VfL Bochum, Marcel Sabitzer from FC Red Bull Salzburg, Terrence Boyd from Rapid Wien and Massimo Bruno from RSC Anderlecht. Some players also have left the club. Massimo Bruno as well as Marcel Sabitzer were immediately transferred on loan to FC Red Bull Salzburg. Fabian Bredlow was transferred on loan to FC Liefering, Andre Luge was loaned and loan to SV Elversberg and Thiago Rockenbach Silva was signed by Hertha BSC II as a free agent. They spent an estimate amount of around 12 million Euros on the acquisition of new players in this summer. The amount was enough to put the club into eighth place among all clubs in the 2. Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga which means that they spend more than half the amount of clubs in the premier division.
RB Leipzig played a series of friendly games during the 2014-15 preseason. On the 18th of July, 2014 the club beat Paris Saint-Germain 4-2 in front of 35,796 fans and 150 journalists accredited on the Red Bull Arena. The opening strike was made by Terrence Boyd who scored the second time in the second game for the club he joined. Terrence Boyd was awarded the shirt of Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Paris Saint-Germain after the match. On the 26th of July, 2014, team beat Queens Park Rangers with 2-0 at the Stadion der Freundschaft in Gera. The goals came from Yussuf Poulsen.
In 2014-15, the 2. Bundesliga season started with a the draw of 0-0 with VfR Aalen on 2 August 2014. The season was followed by two draws and wins. The first loss in the league took place on the sixth matchday, where they lost 1-1 to 1-2. FC Union Berlin at the Red Bull Arena on 21 September 2014. Following the 7th matchday the club was in second within the Bundesliga. RB Leipzig was drawn against SC Paderborn in the first round of the 2014-15 DFB-Pokal. The team took the game by 2-1 after an extra period at the Red Bull Arena on 16 August 2014. The second match of the round saw the team took on FC Erzgebirge Aue. The team prevailed by 3-1 in an extra period at Red Bull Arena on 29 October 2015. They qualified for the round of 16 for the first time in the history of the club. RB Leipzig then released its own magazine for club members Klub on October 6, 2014.
After a string of disappointing performances, the team had been relegated to 7th on thirteenth gameday. On November 23, 2014 RB Leipzig defeated FC St. Pauli 4-1 in front of 38,660 people in the Red Bull Arena. The team scored two goals through Terrence Boyd, and the team moved up to fifth place. However, the success was immediately followed by a draw against SV Sandhausen. On the 7th of December, 2014, the team played first-placed squad FC Ingolstadt. RB Leipzig lost 0-1, and as a result, the club is now 8th position. RB Leipzig strengthened the team over the winter break by the signing of Omer Damari, a player from Austria Wien, Emil Forsberg from Malmo FF and players Rodnei and Yordy Reyna from FC Red Bull Salzburg. They spent an estimate amount of 10,7 million euro on newly signed players in the period of the winter break. a figure that was enough to cover all expenses for transfers in the entirety of 2. Bundesliga.
The 6th February of 2015 was the day that the club fell 2-0 against Erzgebirge Aue. In the aftermath, the club was now playing four games without a win and was no longer in contact with the best placed teams. On the next Tuesday night the club called Alexander Zorninger to a meeting at which, on the night of Tuesday the club made the decision to cut ties with him following the season. The decision was made by the management of the club after concert together with Red Bull GmbH owner Dietrich Mateschitz. In the next day, Alexander Zorniger announced his own decision to quit immediately. The club was criticized for the decision. under Alexander Zorniger, the club was promoted out of into the Regionalliga up to 2. Bundesliga. The move was seen as cruel by certain media. In the meantime, RB Leipzig U17 coach Achim Beierlorzer was appointed interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
5 March 2015. RB Leipzig met VfL Wolfsburg in the third round of the 2014-15 DFB-Pokal. The team was eliminated following losing 2-0 at The Red Bull Arena. The game was watched by 43,348 fans. This is the very first time in the history of the club that the stadium was fully sold-out. The most popular choice of the sporting director Ralf Rangnick as head coach for the remainder of the season was the former Mainz 05 coach Thomas Tuchel however, negotiations with Tuchel did not go well. Another possible candidate could have been Bayer Leverkusen junior coach Sascha Lewandowski, however he also turned down the opportunity. In May 2015, sports director Ralf Rangnick was named as the new head coach for the summer and alongside Achim Beierlorzer working as his assistant. Ralf Rangnick was scheduled to hold the double role for a single season. RB Leipzig finished the 2014-15 2. Bundesliga season fifth in the table.
Prior to the 2015-16 season RB Leipzig invested further in expanding the team. They signed Davie Selke of Werder Bremen, Atinc Nukan from Besiktas, Marcel Halstenberg from FC St. Pauli and Willi Orban as of 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Selke was purchased for EUR8 million. Nukan with an approximate EUR5 million, and Halstenberg with an approximate EUR3 million. Additionally, Joshua Kimmich was sold to Bayern Munich and Rodnei left to join 1860 Munich as free agent. RB Leipzig also made transfers with its non-official sister club, FC Red Bull Salzburg. Like many times in the past the three players were transferred for free including one of them was the Austrian nation's Stefan Ilsanker. In addition, Massimo Bruno, and Marcel Sabitzer, returning to RB Leipzig from being on loan. The transfers caused outrage among supporters at FC Red Bull Salzburg. Over the past few years, FC Red Bull Salzburg transferred several of its top athletes into RB Leipzig. The fans from FC Red Bull Salzburg were in the crowd singing chants at RB Leipzig during a game in the OFB-Cup in April of 2015, following Austrian media had reported Stefan Ilsanker could move to Leipzig in the summer.
the signing of Davie Selke was a record-breaking deal as it was one of the highest-priced players to be to be signed by a club in all the history of 2. Bundesliga. The club spent about EUR18.6 millions on players in this summer. This is higher than any other club within the two. Bundesliga together. The pre-season 2015-16 saw RB Leipzig defeated Southampton 5-4 in Bischofshofen on the 8th of July in 2015 and Rubin Kazan 1-0 in Leogang on the 12th of July in 2015. The team was able to beat Hapoel Tel Aviv 3-0 at the Red Bull Arena on 18 July 2015.
The club was chosen to play VfL Osnabruck in the first round of the 2015-16 DFB-Pokal. The game was played on Osnabruck's Osnatel-Arena situated in Osnabruck on the 10th of August, 2015. Following the match, when Osnabruck won in the opening minute, the Osnabruck fans were so enthusiastic that barriers and safety nets partially fell down and the game had to be stopped. The match was restarted , and Osnabruck was the dominant team in the second period. In the 71st second, the referee Martin Petesen was badly hit on the head with an unidentified lighter, which was that was thrown from the stand at home. The lighter was dropped following Peterson attempted to settle an dispute that had occurred between Davie Selke, and Osnabruck Michael Hohnstedt, who was substituted in the game, caused by a tense situation at the Osnabruck penalty area. The match was delayed, then cancelled. RB Leipzig offered a replay however the DFB determined that the game should be considered lost by Osnabruck 1-2. RB Leipzig later decided to let go of 20,000 euros of the total 50,500 euro VfL Osnabruck owed the club to cover its portion of revenue from the match. RB Leipzig also allowed the payment of the remaining 30,500 euros to be delayed until the following year.
In the in the midst of the European migration crisis, the club players, team members and supporters at RB Leipzig showed support for refugees. In August 2015 RB Leipzig donated EUR50,000 to the City of Leipzig to support its efforts in aiding refugees. The club also donated 60 containers of its training facility, which includes toilet facilities, to the city so that they could be used as refuge for asylum applicants. The club originally had put up around EUR500,000 for the containers. Additionally, the club became patrons of the project "Willkommen in Fussball" which gives refugee children the opportunity to play soccer. The players and staff of RB Leipzig collected and donated sports equipment and clothing to refugees. Head of the sports department and head coach Ralf Rangnick took part in the donation. He expressed personal reasons for the donation to refugees, citing his own experiences as a kid to refugees. His parents had met at the refugee camp in Glauchau and his father left Konigsberg and mother was from Breslau. Through the initiative of supporters, RB Leipzig invited refugees with no cost to attend their home game with SC Paderborn on 11 September 2015. More than 450 people attended the game at the stadium, and were greeted by 200 supporters prior to the game.
RB Leipzig advanced to the second round of the DFB-Pokal and was eliminated after losing 3-0 to a well-constructed team SpVgg Unterhaching from the Regionalliga Bayern at the Alpenbauer Sportpark on 27 October 2015. After losing to SV Sandhausen 2-1 away at the 13th matchday of November of 2015 RB Leipzig stood at first in the league. However, the position was lost on the following gameday, when the team being defeated in the league by SC Freiburg and FC St. Pauli. After a string of victories that saw the team return to the lead on the 13th December of 2015. RB Leipzig made only few transfers over this winter's break. The defender Tim Sebastian, who had been with the squad since 2010, and was previously as captain, decided for SC Paderborn, and midfielder Zsolt Kalmar joined FSV Frankfurt , on loan.
RB Leipzig held the leading spot in the league until the 27th gameday, after which they lost against SC Freiburg, after the team was defeated by 3-1 away to 1.FC Nurnberg on March 20, 2016. The team is now in second within the Bundesliga, but only three points clear of 1. FC Nurnberg in third place. RB Leipzig then recorded two consecutive wins, which increased the gap by six points. With just three matches remaining in this season in the Bundesliga, that gap was reduced to just four points. RB Leipzig finally secured a second position in the league, and an immediate advancement to the Bundesliga on matchday 33 in the Bundesliga, when they defeated Karlsruher SC 2-0 in front of 42,559 fans in the Red Bull Arena on 8 May 2016. The celebration was held with 20,000 supporters in the Market Square in front of the Old Town Hall in central Leipzig on May 16, 2016. The team was greeted prior to the event in the presence of Leipzig Mayor Burkhard Jung.
In the final stages of the season Ralf Rangnick was scheduled to step down as head coach to allow him concentrate on his work as the sporting director. German media had earlier in the course of the season speculated about a variety of candidates to be the next head coach, such as Markus Gisdol, Sandro Schwarz, Jocelyn Gourvennec, Rene Weiler and most notable Markus Weinzierl. On the 6th of May, 2016 Ralph Hasenhuttl was announced as the new head coach. Ralph Hasenhuttl had successfully served as head coach at FC Ingolstadt 04 since October 2013, and had brought the team from lowest tier in the 2. Bundesliga into the Bundesliga and then managed to secure the position in the top league in the 2015-16 season.