By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- It took a while for Ralf Rangnick to get some sleep after the biggest triumph in his clubs' history. RB Leipzig have reached the German Cup final after a 3-1 victory against second division side Hamburger SV.
The coach and sporting director of Leipzig spent half that night replying to messages as dozens of well-wishers left their comments in his mailbox. The 60-year-old didn't mind the distraction as "it is hard to find some sleep after a stirring game like that."
German football might still be dominated by headlines about the big two of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, but things might change shortly when it comes to the nation's clubs ranking. Leipzig have developed into a strong competitor for Bayern and Dortmund.
Fans are already asking themselves what is next while Rangnick and his team are getting closer to securing third place in the Bundesliga, and it is easy to forget that this is just the team's third year in the German top flight, having been founded only in 2009.
The East German outfit have won all of their last 14 games and all nine of their previous away games. "I haven't experienced anything similar in my career," Rangnick underlined. The former Schalke 04, Hoffenheim and Stuttgart coach praised his team's quality, his great pride apparent.
But Leipzig and Rangnick don't seem to have reached their final destination yet. While this season is a success already, it keeps fans' minds busy about what will happen next season when Leipzig will be led by one of Germany's most talented young coaches: Julian Nagelsmann.
Having won 61 points in the Bundesliga after the 30th round of matches, Leipzig already have 14 points more than it had gained by the same point last year. Rangnick's significant achievement is having found a healthy balance between his team's irresistible offensive power and a robust defense attitude. "It is hard for opponents to create chances against us," the coach emphasized.
The side's defense is the league's best, with only 23 goals conceded. It is apparent that the team has matured. No other team can perform well using so many different tactical systems.
Despite being able to count on the support of a well-known energy drink company, at 65 million euros, Leipzig didn't invest significantly more than Bayern (62m) or Borussia (90m) this year.
Many fans might still oppose the nouveau riche nature of the club, with huge investments having been made in recent years, but antipathy is slowly turning into respect. Leipzig's owners also own teams in Salzburg, New York, Brazil and Ghana, continually providing Leipzig with new faces.
The strategy to only sign highly talented youngsters seems to have paid off, with Rangnick praising "the enormous quality we have in training when all are around."
Bayern and Dortmund already turn their heads when Leipzig's games are on. The big two are convinced their lonesome time at the top of German club football is over.
"It makes me happy to see how desperate all of our players were to reaching the final," Rangnick said. But reaching the "Deutsche Pokalfinale" played on May 25 in Berlin might not be the last coup.
This season it could well be Leipzig deciding the outcome of the title race between Bayern (70 points) and Dortmund (69). On the penultimate match day, Bayern have to travel to Leipzig to try to secure their seventh consecutive Bundesliga in a match that will be crucial to the destiny of the trophy.
