RB Leipzig: Liverpool reserve and French lower league nomads — where Bundesliga table-toppers were four years ago
Since 2009, Red Bull-owned side have risen from fifth tier to first place in top flight, and we take a look at players' journeys
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LAST season, the world of football thought it had seen it all, when relegation favourites, Leicester, became Premier League champions.
However, RB Leipzig could arguably outdo the Foxes’ miraculous achievement and become Bundesliga champions just seven years on from languishing in Germany’s fifth tier.
And not only that, unlike last season’s Premier League, they are up against a truly world class team in Bayern Munich — and currently sit three points clear of the Bavarians.
Keep up to date with ALL the RB Leipzig news, gossip and transfers on our club page
They have already beaten Borussia Dortmund and come from 2-1 down to win at Bayer Leverkusen.
It’s been a meteoric rise, and we take a look at where their stars were four years ago.
Peter Gulacsi, goalkeeper
HUNGARIAN is Leipzig’s No.1 but in 2012-13, was Liverpool’s third choice stopper and didn’t play a game.
Gulacsi had just returned from loan spells at Hereford, Tranmere and Hull.
Was also Hungary's No.2 behind Gabor Kiraly at this summer’s Euro 2016.
Kyriakos Papadopoulos, defender
HAS been in the Bundesliga with Schalke and later Bayer Leverkusen since 2010.
Papadopoulos started two of Greece’s Euro 2012 games — including the quarter-final defeat to Germany.
Injuries have cursed him throughout his career and he has been struggling again this season.
Willi Orban, defender
WAS a youth team player with Kaiserslautern and rose through the ranks.
He made his debut in the German second tier,
And Orban became a hate figure among the fans following his defection to Leipzig in 2015.
Marvin Compper, defender
GERMAN left Hoffenheim for a brief stay at Fiorentina.
In 2008, Compper received his first — and to date only — international cap in a friendly against England.
He became the first-ever Hoffenheim player to receive a Germany cap.
Marcel Halstenberg, defender
WAS a regular in Dortmund’s second team.
Halstenberg was observed by Jurgen Klopp but never made a first team appearance.
Moved to St Pauli in 2013.
Benno Schmitz, defender
PART of Bayern Munich Under-19s side which won the Champions League.
After a brief stint at Austrian second tier side, FC Liefering, he moved to Red Bull Salzburg in 2014, where he won the Austrian Bundesliga.
Schmitz joined Leipzig in the summer and has made five appearances in the league.
Stefan Ilsanker, defensive midfielder
RETURNED to Salzburg after leaving the youth set-up for Mattersburg in 2010.
Ilsanker won back-to-back Austrian league titles in 2014 and 2015.
Is the son of Salzburg goalkeeping coach, Herbert Ilsanker.
Diego Demme, defensive midfielder
WAS a regular at second tier side, Paderborn.
Moved to Leipzig in 2014 after winning promotion to the Bundesliga with his former side.
Demme started his career with Arminia Bielefeld.
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Rani Khedira, midfielder
BROTHER of current Juventus and former Real Madrid star, Sami.
This Khedira followed in the footsteps of his World Cup-winning sibling by starting off in Stuttgart’s academy.
After just nine first team appearances, he moved to then second-tier side, Leipzig, in 2014.
Naby Keita, midfielder
WAS a nomad, wandering aimlessly around the French lower leagues just four years ago.
Keita was at Horoya, but made no appearances, before joining FC Istres in 2013.
Via a two-year spell with Salzburg, he joined Leipzig in the summer.
Dominik Kaiser (captain), midfielder
JOINED the club in the summer of 2012.
He had already tasted the top-flight with Hoffenheim in 2011-12.
Moving up the ranks, Kaiser is appropriately named for a German side's captain.
Zsolt Kalmar, midfielder
WAS at Hungarian second tier side, Gyor.
Kalmar was with the club from youth level.
He spent last season on loan at FSV Frankfurt.
Emil Forsberg, winger
IS HOPING to replicate his success from exactly four years ago.
The Swede was a title-winner in his homeland with Malmo — having defended the championship they won the previous season.
Forsberg moved to Leipzig in 2014.
Oliver Burke, winger
IS HOPING to replicate fellow Scot, Paul Lambert, and win trophies in Germany.
Burke was a youth team player at Nottingham Forest four years ago.
After a loan spell at Bradford, he made the switch to Leipzig in the summer.
Marcel Sabitzer, forward
WAS a regular for Austrian side, Admira Wacker, at the age of 18.
Sabitzer got his big move to powerhouses, Rapid Vienna, in 2013, before joining Leipzig in 2014.
Spent the 2014-15 season on loan at Salzburg.
Yussuf Poulsen, forward
WAS at Danish, side Lyngby Boldklub, having made his professional debut at the age of 17 and moved to Leipzig two years later.
Poulsen has been a regular ever since.
Is also a regular for Denmark, earning 16 caps.
Timo Werner, forward
THE star, who has attracted interest from many of Europe’s top teams.
Wener was a youth team player at Stuttgart alongside Khedira, and became Leipzig’s record signing when he joined in the summer.
Has scored seven goals this season.
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Davie Selke, forward
WAS a youth team player at Hoffenheim, before moving Werder Bremen’s academy in 2013.
Selke made his Bundesliga debut in 2013 and scored nine goals in two seasons.
Leipzig made him the second tier’s most expensive player ever in 2015.