Given that he only has one season left in charge at RB Leipzig before Julian Nagelsmann swoops in to take over, sitting coach Ralf Rangnick has decided to inject a little fun into the disciplinary arrangement at the club.
Indeed, Rangnick has installed a “wheel of fortune” to help dole out punishments to players who are late, use their phone during training or even report back to the club carrying a few extra pounds.
Guilty players spin the wheel, which then in turn dictates their fate — ranging from having to train in a ballerina costume right through to three hours unpaid work in the club shop…
RB Leipzig head coach Ralf Rangnick uses a spinning wheel to determine player punishments, which include:
-Work in club shop
-Serve food in team cafeteria
-Guide stadium tours
-Mow grass on training pitches
-Buy gifts for club staff
-Train in a tutu(Image via @BILD)
— Tony Mabert (@TonyMabertESPN) 13 September 2018
Explaining the system to BILD, Rangnick said that fines were becoming less and less effective so he borrowed an idea from his assistant coach at Leipzig, Jesse Marsch.
Fines rarely do anything. It hurts the players hurt more, for example, if they have less free time.
The 12 punishments included on the wheel are as follows:
1. Pump up the balls, get them on the pitch, clean them – 30 minutes per day for one week
2. Train one of the academy teams on an otherwise free day – four hours
3. Stadium tour guide – one hour
4. Get lucky: No punishment
5. Mow and take care of the training pitch – four to six hours within a training week
6. Wear a pink ‘princess’ jersey or ballerina tutu for training – 90 minutes
7. Mix drinks ahead of training, fill bottles with water – 20 minutes per day for one week
8. Work as an assistant in the club shop for three hours
9. Serve food in the team cafeteria, clean the tables – 30 minutes per day
10. Work as kit assistant, take care of dirty shirts, help with cleaning boots – 30 minutes per day
11. Help load the team bus with crates and bags on day of away matches – around 1.5 hours
12. Purchase small gifts for all of Leipzig’s 60 members of staff
Excellent stuff.
When players are so well paid that fines become an irrelevance, you need to get creative.