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New Era, One Question — Demichelis's Leipzig Off and Running
Episode 117 • 25th August 2026 • RBL Talk — RB Leipzig Podcast (English) • Justin Crozer
00:00:00 00:21:57

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Full Time — The definitive weekly breakdown.

In This Episode:

  • 📊 Match Review: Eintracht Trier 0-6 RB Leipzig (Sofascore Data Analysis)
  • 🔎 Player Watch: Arthur Vermeeren vs Rocco Reitz — the battle for a midfield spot: who staked their claim?
  • 🔮 The Preview: RB Leipzig vs Borussia Mönchengladbach (Bundesliga opener) — Player Watch duel Seiwald vs Bolin & our score prediction
  • 💬 Fan Voice: Featured comments from andriuxa.capas, @RBL_Trolly & Nitroso — including "Nkunku must come"… and the news that he actually is.

Don't Miss Out:

  • 🏟️ The Digital Terrace: Don't just watch — join the community. Our Discord is the digital equivalent of the standing area; it's where we talk tactics, vent after a loss, and celebrate every goal 24/7. Grab your spot on the terrace here: https://discord.gg/jE6ZzwcCYu
  • 📅 Next Livestream: RB Leipzig vs Borussia Mönchengladbach
  • 📥 Get Involved: Send questions via socials or record an audio message on SpeakPipe to be played on-air.
  • 🗣️ Join the Show: Want to represent your club or share your RBL take? Book a guest spot here: https://rbltalk.captivate.fm/booking
  • ☕ Support the Show: Help us cover running costs here: https://rbltalk.captivate.fm/support

Partners & Credits:

🎵 Music: Andrii Poradovskyi (Pixabay)

Transcripts

Justin Crozer:

Two minutes

2

:

That's all it took.

3

:

Two minutes into a brand-new season, and

Bragan Gruda had already put us in front.

4

:

By the final whistle in Trier, 6-0.

5

:

New manager, new era, a summer that

flipped this club on its head, and a first

6

:

competitive night under Martin Demichelis

that could hardly have gone any better.

7

:

But hold your horses, because

it was a fourth-tier opposition.

8

:

So what does it really tell

us about this Leipzig side?

9

:

That's what we're here to work out.

10

:

Plus, your best takes from the

digital terrace, a full preview

11

:

of Saturday's opener at home to

Gladbach, and a certain prodigal

12

:

son making his way back to Cottaweg.

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Trust me, you're going to want

to stick around for this one.

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Hello and welcome back to RBL Talk, the

independent community-powered home of RB

15

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Leipzig chat, coming to you from Adelaide.

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I'm your host, Justin Crozer,

and this is episode 117.

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Here's what's coming your way.

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We'll break down Demichelis' first

competitive test in the Pokal and

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run the Player Watch result on

the man we tipped last episode.

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Then it's over to you.

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The Digital Terrace has been

talking, and I'll be reading

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:

and reacting to your takes.

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After that, the main event, our Bundesliga

opener at home to Borussia Monchengladbach

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with a Player Watch duel and a score

prediction built off the numbers.

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And believe me, there's a massive piece

of transfer news to get before we're done.

26

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Loads to get through.

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Let's go, RBL.

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Right, the Pokal.

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The first competitive game of the De

Miceli's era, and we made the trip west

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to Trier, lower league, part-timers.

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The romantic underdog every

neutral wants to see cause a shock.

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But there was no shock.

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Let me set the scene, because

the numbers tell the whole story.

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We had seventy-two percent of the ball.

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We took twenty-eight shots to their seven.

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Eleven on target to their two.

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And here's the one that made me laugh.

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Touches in the opposition

box, Trier had four all game.

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We had fifty-nine.

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Fifty-nine.

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That's not a football match.

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That is a siege.

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Final score, six-nil, and

honestly, it could have been more.

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We rattled the woodwork

twice on top of it.

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And this one was over

almost before it began.

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Brajan Gruda lashed us out in front

inside two minutes, and by the

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sixth, Willy Orban made it two.

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Six minutes on the clock, two-nil,

and the tie as good as gone.

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Radu Baku swept in a third from a

corner right on the stroke of half-time.

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So we were three to the good at

the break without breaking a sweat.

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After it, Konrad Harder, fresh off the

bench, made it four before a stoppage

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time double to put the gloss on.

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Antonio Nusa with the fifth in

the ninety-second minute, and

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Ezekiel Banzuzi hammering a sixth

from a set piece at the death.

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Six goals, six different scorers.

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That's about as complete

as an away day gets.

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Never in doubt for a single second,

Trier made 25 clearances to our two.

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Their keeper, Weschel, made five saves,

four of them from inside his own box, and

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still fished it out of the net six times.

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49 touches for a goalkeeper.

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Spare him a thought.

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Busiest man in Rheinland-Pfalz.

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Our lad Vandervoort, on the other

hand, so untroubled, he finished with

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a perfect passing record, 16 from 16.

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Made his two saves, kept the clean sheet,

done Trier's one real sight of goal, was a

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Sean Blum strike just after the hour that

he pushed away, and that was your lot.

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Man of the match, no

argument, Willy Orban.

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A 9.5

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from Sofascore, and he

earned every inch of it.

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A goal, an assist, 94% passing, three

interceptions, every aerial duel won,

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a center half running the whole show.

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Ahead of him, Brajan Gruda was electric.

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A goal, an 8.4,

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and 240 meters of carrying

that had Trier chasing shadows.

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And behind them, Skipper Raum and

Costello Lekeba were metronomes.

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Lekeba alone knocked around 270

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meters of carrying and

hit 98% of his passes.

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This was a team that clicked.

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Now player watch.

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Cast your mind back to last episode.

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We didn't tip one man for this one.

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We tipped a battle.

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Arthur Vermeeren against Rocco Reitz.

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Two young midfielders scrapping over the

same spot in De Marchili's engine room.

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So how did round one go?

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Well, tellingly, neither of them started.

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Both came off the bench, but it was

Reitz who made the louder noise.

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On at 64 minutes and inside half an

hour, he'd laid an assist and carved

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out another big chance for a teammate.

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That's a pick-me-boss

cameo if I ever saw one.

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Vermeeren only got the last 10 minutes.

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Did the tidy stuff, a tackle,

an interception, but you

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can't state your case in 10.

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So round one goes to Reitz on impact.

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The fight for that starting

shirt, very much still on.

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One to keep watching.

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Now the caveat, we always add it's Trier.

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It's not the Bundesliga.

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You're supposed to win

these, and win them well.

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So I'm not going to sit here and tell

you we've answered every question

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after one cup tie against part-timers.

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But here's what I liked.

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The ruthlessness, 94 entries into the

final third, 75% pass accuracy up there,

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and a back line that gave up exactly

one shot inside our box all game.

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Demi Chalis wanted a professional,

no-nonsense start to his reign.

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That's precisely what he got.

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Job done.

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Into the hat for round

two, and we move on.

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Right.

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This is my favorite part of the show.

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Over to the Digital Terrace,

where you lot have your say.

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First one up comes in from Andryuxa Capas.

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I've probably butchered that.

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It's spelled A-N-D-R-I-U-X-A

dot C-A-P-A-S.

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Dropped in the Spotify

comments on episode, uh, 116.

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Here's what they reckon.

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"Great video.

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Nice collaboration.

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I think De Marchi could

be a positive move.

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As a former defender himself, he should

be able to clean things up at the back.

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Hope we're consistent in

the league and the Pokal.

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Anything can happen."

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First off, thank you.

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That generally means a lot, and

the collaboration you're talking

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about was our chat with Johannes

Martin, which I loved doing.

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But here's why I wanted to read yours out.

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You called it before we'd even

kicked a ball, a former defender

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who'll clean things up at the back.

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Well, Pokal Round One, Trier away, clean

sheet, and we gave up exactly one shot

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inside our own box the entire game.

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One.

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Now, tiny sample size, it's only Trier.

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I'm not about to build a statue, but the

very first sight of Demichelis' Leipzig

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was a back line that didn't give an inch.

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So right now, you're

looking like a genius.

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And on wanting consistency across

both the league and the Pokal,

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mate, that's the whole season in a

sentence, and it gets real on Saturday

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Next one, and this is a belter from

at RBL underscore Trolley over on X.

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A proper five things we

learned from the Trier game.

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Here's the list.

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Five things we learned from this match.

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Willy Orban does not deserve to be sold.

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He is still class.

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Gruda will be one of the most

important players this season.

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Nusa could finally have his

breakthrough season with us.

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Never start Gomez at striker again.

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Nkunku must come

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Right, let's take these on.

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Orban not deserving to be sold.

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Well, I just spent the last few minutes

telling you he was man of the match on a

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nine point five with a goal and an assist.

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So yeah, I think we agree on

that showing you build the team

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around him, you don't cash him in.

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Garuda one of the most

important this season.

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The lad scored inside two minutes

and carried the ball two hundred

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and forty meters on his own.

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Keep that up and you won't

get an argument from me.

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Noose's breakthrough.

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He rounded off his night with a stoppage

time goal and beat his man seven times.

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There is a serious player

in there if it all clicks.

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Then never start Gomez at striker again.

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Oof.

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Bit harsh, but I hear you.

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He hit the post.

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He missed a big chance.

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The finish just wasn't there.

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I'll stick up for him a little.

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He was getting into the right positions,

and he's a young lad learning a role.

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But I'm not going to sit here and tell

you he took his chances because he didn't.

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And finally, Nkunku must come.

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Well, sit down for this one

at RBL Trolley, because as I'm

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recording this, it's happening.

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Nkunku is on his way

back alone from Milan.

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Fabrizio Romano's called the here we go.

175

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You put a prayer emoji next to his name,

and the football gods went and delivered.

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I mean it.

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Every one of us would have

taken that in a heartbeat.

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And now we don't have to dream about it.

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He's coming home.

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Unbelievable, list mate.

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You might just be a wizard.

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And one more.

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And it's the perfect one to finish on

because it's the other side of the coin.

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This is from Nitroso in the

Digital Terrace on Discord.

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Despite a good outing today, I'm

very worried about our attack.

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We don't have a reliable finisher

and players like Gomez and

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Harder are very hit and miss

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And you know what, Nitroso?

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I can't argue.

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This is the honest bit.

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We struck six past trial, but you've

put your finger on exact question

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mark hanging over this whole season.

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Who's the reliable finisher?

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The striker deal fell through in

the summer, and right now, it's

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a case of everyone chipping in.

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On your two names,

though, I'll half agree.

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Go Mees, hit and miss is fair.

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He missed a big one and hit the post.

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But Harder, he actually took his

off the bench tucked away, so today

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He was firmly on the hit side.

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Still, the bigger point absolutely

stands, and it's the right

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thing to be worried about.

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Battering the fourth trier is one thing.

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When you're up against Bundesliga

back lines and you get two or three

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chances a game instead of twenty-eight,

you need someone who buries them.

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And notice, that ties straight

into the Nkunku news we just got.

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Nitroso, you're worried?

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With no reliable finisher?

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Well, a fella with 120-odd goal

contributions in this shirt is

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on his way back through the door.

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Now, full honesty, the last couple

of years at Chelsea and Milan

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have been stop-start for him.

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Fitness and all that, so I'm not

promising you vintage Nkunku overnight.

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But at his peak in red and white, one

of the most feared attackers in Europe.

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If Demichilies gets that version back,

your worry starts to look a lot smaller.

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Solve the number nine, and this

team looks very different, and

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we might just have solved it.

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That's The Terrace for this week.

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And did you notice the thread

running through all three?

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Read them together, and you've basically

got the story of our season already.

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The defense looks like it's in

safe hands, and the attack is the

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one we're all keeping an eye on.

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Perfectly put, the lot of you.

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Keep them coming.

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SpeakPipe, a comment on Spotify

episode, or straight into the

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Digital Terrace on Discord.

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The best ones get read right here

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quick breather.

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If you're enjoying this, here's the thing.

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RBL Talk has no corporate backing

and no club money behind it.

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It's you and me.

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No agendas, no gatekeepers,

just pure Leipzig passion.

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If you wanna help keep the lights on

and the show free and independent,

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:

everything's in the show notes.

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And honestly, just sharing this

episode with one other Leipzig

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fan does more than you'd think.

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Right, back to it

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Right, the big one.

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Saturday afternoon, the Red Bull

Arena, and the Bundesliga is back.

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Champions League football returns to

Leipzig this season, and it all begins

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at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

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So what are we walking into?

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Here's the thing about Gladbach.

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They arrive in ominous nick.

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Their own Pokal round, one was

almost a carbon copy of ours.

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5-0 away at fourth-tier Schott Mainz.

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78% of the ball, 30 shots.

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Sound familiar?

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And their pre-season was frankly

a little bit frightening.

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Five wins from five that I've seen,

including beating Aston Villa 2-1

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and putting four past Hoffenheim.

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So Eugene Polanski's side roll into

town with a full head of steam.

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But, and it's a big but, dig into

that Schott Mainz game and there's

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a real chink of light for us.

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They were wasteful.

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Eight big chances created.

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Five of them missed.

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30 shots, five goals.

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So yes, they'll carve out chances,

but the finishing wasn't ruthless.

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And against a Leipzig backline

that just gave up exactly one shot

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inside our box all game, that could

be the whole match right there.

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The man to keep both eyes on is a

young forward called Hugo Bolin.

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He was Man of the Match against

Schott with two goals and 9.2.

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He's valued around 17 million,

and the German press are tipping

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this as his breakout season.

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Quick, clever, plays off the front.

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He's the one with the keys to hurt us.

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Oh, and one to file away for later,

Rocco Reetz, the very same from our

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Player Watch earlier, actually joined

us this summer from Gladbach, where

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he was their vice-captain, no less.

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He could well feature on Saturday,

but the real story there is for the

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return fixture when we travel to

Borussia-Park and he walks back into

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that stadium in front of the old crowd.

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Trust me, we'll give that one

the full treatment when it comes.

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Park it for now.

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And for us, Demirci's will be flying after

Trier, but let's be honest with ourselves.

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This is the real examination.

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A proper Bundesliga side, not

part-timers having a day out.

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The one question mark, and the

terrace called it, is up top.

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Now, help is on the way, and

Nkunku's return, which I'll

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come to, is a serious lift.

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But realistically, he won't be registered

and ready in time for Saturday.

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So for this one, the

question still stands.

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Who leads the line?

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Sort that, and with the way

we're defending, there's

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every reason to fancy us.

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And that brings us to the player

watch duel, and it's a belter.

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In the Gladbach corner, Hugo Berlin.

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In ours, Nicholas Seiwald.

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Berlin first.

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Two goals, man of the match, a

nine-point-two, and here's the

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number that leaps off the page.

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Nine shots.

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Nine.

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In just seventy minutes and seven of

them on target, this lad shoots on sight.

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And when he pulls the trigger,

he tends to hit the mark.

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He'll create for others too.

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He laid on an assist, but make no mistake,

he's a finisher first and foremost.

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The flip side?

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He also passed up two big chances.

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So even Bolin isn't that finished

article just yet, and that

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is the heart of my question.

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He piled all that up

against the fourth tier.

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Can he do it against a Champions

League Bundesliga side with a

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proper midfield in his face?

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Saturday, we find that out, and the man

I'd back to find out is Nicholas Seiwald

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Against Trier, he was our metronome.

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Nothing flashy, just total control,

96% of his passes in his own

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half, sitting in front of the back

four like a bouncer on the door.

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That's precisely the job on Saturday.

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Get tight, block the shooting

lanes, choke off the supply before

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it even reaches Bohlen's feet.

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Put it this way, if Bohlen's rattling

off nine shots again, we're in trouble.

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If Seibold's done his job right,

Bohlen barely gets one away.

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And remember how wasteful

Gladbach were in front of goal.

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Do the discipline stuff, and

you fancy us to ride it out.

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Let Bohlen off the leash, and that

is a very different afternoon.

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So here it is, Seibold versus Bohlen.

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I'll be watching that one like a hawk.

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Prediction time.

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And the usual health warning.

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This is a judgment call, not a gospel.

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Both these sides have so far only

played fourth-tier cup minnows

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and a few friendlies, so the hard

data's thin, and I'm not going

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to dress up a guess as science.

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But weighing it all up, we're at home.

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We're chasing the Champions League.

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They finished 12th last season,

and for all the preseason

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fireworks, they can be got at.

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So I'll go with a Leipzig win, but

a proper contest, not a cakewalk.

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2-1, Leipzig.

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Come and prove me wrong on Saturday

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right, let's bring it home.

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A few things to take away from today.

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One, Maarten Demichelis could

not have asked for a better

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first competitive night.

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Six goals, a clean

sheet, one shot conceded.

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Yes, it was only Trier, but that

is ruthless professional start, and

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it's exactly what you wanna see.

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Two, listen to the terrace,

because between them, they've

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sketched out our entire season.

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The defense looks like it's in safe hands,

and the attack, that number nine question

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is the one we're all keeping an eye on.

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And three, Saturday is the real exam.

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Gladbach are in form, and Hugo Burling

is dangerous, but they're beatable.

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I've said 2-1 Leipzig,

and I'm sticking to it

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Now this is the question for

the terrace, and honestly, the

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timing could not be better.

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Because it is no longer a rumor.

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As I'm recording this, it's happening.

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Christopher Nkunku is coming home.

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Fabrizio Romano's given the here we go.

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A loan back from AC Milan

with an option to buy.

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The boy who became a superstar in this

shirt is on his way back to Cottageweg.

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So at RBL Trolley on X, you've asked

for it earlier, and you got it.

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Which brings me to my

question for all of you.

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Under Demichelis, where does he play?

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Is he your out-and-out striker

leading the line and answering that

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number nine question in one stroke?

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Is he the number 10 tucked in

just behind the striker, pulling

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the strings the way he used to?

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Or is he back out wide,

a winger cutting inside?

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There's no wrong answer.

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I wanna hear your best 11 logic.

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Get it on SpeakPipe.

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:

That's up to five minutes of audio.

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Drop it in the Spotify comments, or post

it in the Digital Terrace on Discord.

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The best takes get played

right here next episode.

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Before I go, you know the deal.

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RBL Talk is completely independent.

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No corporate sponsors, no club

money, just me and this community.

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If you've enjoyed today, the best

thing you can do is follow the show

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wherever you're listening, leave a

rating if you've got a spare second,

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and share it with one other Leipzig fan.

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:

Everything is in the show notes.

376

:

No agendas, no gatekeepers,

just pure Leipzig passion, and

377

:

that's exactly how we keep it.

378

:

That's your lot for episode 117.

379

:

I've been Justin Crozer, and

until next time, bye-bye for now

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