A day after the announcement that Max Eberl would become RB Leipzig's new sporting director from December 15, it was quiet around the club's training ground.

The team trained in decimated numbers, the many national players stayed at their selections.

Eberl himself was not present either.

Of course not, one has to say.

The manager has avoided public appearances since leaving Borussia Mönchengladbach in January, and he was not present in person when his appointment was announced.

A press release issued by Leipzig said he was "ready again and full of vigor to want to work in football".

Like phantoms, Eberl's personalities had been sneaking through the Leipzig walls for a long time without him ever being seen there in public.

It was no secret that RB was courting him.

Managing Director Oliver Mintzlaff spoke about the interest weeks ago.

The new coach Marco Rose, who had worked with Eberl in Gladbach, spoke out aggressively in favor of acquiring his confidante.

2.5 million euros fee

It remains to be seen to what extent this all too public advertising helped to reach an agreement with Borussia Mönchengladbach.

It is said that Leipzig transfers 2.5 million euros to Gladbach for Eberl's services.

The amount should increase significantly if successful.

In the knowledge of the enormous interest in Leipzig, those responsible at Borussia did not have the worst negotiating position.

Eberl had a contract with the Gladbachers until 2026. It had been suspended since he tearfully declared at the beginning of the year that he "didn't want to have anything to do with this football anymore".

Words that sounded like a final exit from the business.

At the time, Eberl described himself as burnt out and empty, unable to continue to meet the extreme demands of his job.

He disappeared, traveled around the world and now lives partly in Switzerland, the home of his partner.

accusation of hypocrisy

The emotional farewell is now being blamed on him.

Parts of the Gladbach audience accuse him of nothing less than hypocrisy, and fan representatives described his performance as "unbelievable".

Especially because he is now joining a club that he has regularly criticized for its business practices in the past.

What Eberl once particularly complained about were the financial advantages through the powerful sponsor in the background and the combination of the Leipzig and Salzburg locations.

Now he was quoted differently by RB: "I'm coming to a club that has developed rapidly in recent years, is very ambitious and has a clear football philosophy."

Frustrated in Gladbach

But it is also true that he is coming to a club as sports director that has recently been unable to hide its structural problems in certain areas.

The search for a suitable sports director has become a farce since Markus Krösche moved to Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer of 2021.

As a result, Managing Director Mintzlaff repeatedly issued ultimatums for which he wanted to fill the vacant post.

Nothing came of this until Mintzlaff began talking about a possible agreement with a category “1A” candidate in the summer.

As it turned out, it was Eberl.

The Leipzig managing director had already made contact in January after Eberl's departure from Borussia, but at the time received a message that he should get in touch again in the summer.

The impression that Eberl could not be averse to a new task was already created during his late phase in Gladbach.

The manager expressed growing frustration with the site's limited capabilities.

Internally, it is said to have been an open secret that he was tired of constantly losing key players.

In Leipzig the possibilities are far greater, but so are the expectations.

Eberl is to be equipped with far-reaching competencies, he complements the management of the association with Oliver Mintzlaff (Chairman), Florian Hopp (Finance) and Johann Plenge (Corporate Development).

How committed RB is to success only recently became clear when coach Domenico Tedesco had to leave just a few weeks later after a false start in the Bundesliga despite winning the DFB Cup.

His successor was Rose.

Eberl was already involved in this decision.

Both had backed each other up in Gladbach times, even on turbulent days.

Good prerequisites for being able to be successful in Leipzig, which was recently agitated.