RB Leipzig vs Schalke 04 - Leipzig coach Hasenhuttl will take title-challengers tag ahead of Schalke clash

Posted Friday, December 02, 2016 by PA

RB Leipzig coach Ralph Hasenhuttl says his side are more than happy to be the ones making German football interesting again.

His side lead perennial champions Bayern Munich by three points approaching the midway stage of the season and they will be looking to extend their unbeaten record to 13 games when they host Schalke on Saturday evening.

With the Royal Blues among a host of traditionally big clubs unable to contest Bayern's hegemony of German football in recent years, Hasenhuttl says his side are glad to step into the breach and give the Bavarians something to think about this season.

He is certainly not afraid of being branded title challengers.

"We've said time and time again how huge a compliment it is to us that we are being considered in such a way," Hasenhuttl told Kicker magazine.

"If that word is right for us, then we can live with it. If you break everything down to just the sporting aspects then that is what this league has been lacking for a long time, and we are happy to assume that role."

Not the whole of Germany are happy to see Leipzig leading the way, however.

The owner of the Austrian Red Bull drinks empire, Dietrich Mateschitz, bought the licence of SSV Markranstadt when they were in the fifth division and transformed them into RB Leipzig.

Four promotions in seven seasons has seen them join the Bundesliga for the first time, but their lack of tradition and their backing by a major investor, which is banned in German football but for several small exceptions, such as Hoffenheim, has seen them singled out for criticism by rival fans.

While many would like to see somebody challenge Bayern's supremacy, not many are keen on Leipzig being the club to do it, not least a man who was born not too far away, in the same state of Saxony, and is now keeping goal for Saturday's opponents Schalke.

"We're going to show Leipzig what honest, real Bundesliga football is all about," said Ralf Fahrmann, whose job it will be to keep out the in-form Timo Werner, Emil Forsberg and Yussuf Poulsen this weekend, on his club's website.

His team come into the game on a seven-game unbeaten streak which has lifted them from the foot of the table to eighth - still some way behind where they want to be.

"We're getting more assured and conceding fewer goals and that is a good feeling and a statistic that we want to improve," Fahrmann added.

"We want more. We are not happy with our current league position."

Standing to benefit from a Schalke win are Bayern, who could move above Leipzig at the top of the standings with a win in Mainz on Friday night.

While many no longer want to see the record champions leading the way, they may exceptionally accept that state of affairs, just as long as it means Leipzig are not there instead.