Nagelsmann Prepared For Frosty RB Leipzig Reunion
Julian Nagelsmann says he is prepared for a possible frosty reception when he takes his Bayern Munich side to former club RB Leipzig on Saturday.
Nagelsmann ended a two-year stint at the Red Bull Arena this summer by joining the German champions.
The 34-year-old infuriated his former side by going back on his word to poach Marcel Sabitzer in the final hours of the summer transfer window, having already brought Xaver Zembrod and Dino Toppmoller as part of his coaching staff from Leipzig to Bavaria.
Nagelsmann is however bracing himself for a hostile reunion with a side he led to the Champions League semi-finals and DFB-Pokal final in the last two seasons, albeit losing both.
"I'm looking forward to it. I had two fantastic years in Leipzig. I think the coaching staff and the players are looking forward to seeing me,” Nagelsmann said ahead of Saturday’s clash.
"Of course I read something about me being a liar. Some fans aren't happy I left Leipzig. At the time, I said in a press conference I wouldn't take players or staff members.
"When you're sitting in a press conference and say, 'I want to take six players and seven members of my coaching staff along', I don't think that's going to go down very well in public either.
"That's also going to cause a very negative reaction. At the time I didn't plan to take anyone along."
He added: "It's not going to influence my performance. I worry about other things.
"We brought a good spirit into the club, had a good relationship with fans, and I think we furthered the club, developed the club. I tried to pay back the money that I earned there. It won't influence me tomorrow – I'm not going to be a worse coach tomorrow if some fans boo me.
"Things like hate and all the insults and the words thrown at you, I find it very questionable. I assume there are going to be some unhappy fans there. From a coaching perspective I don't really care.
"It's not as if I'm experiencing friendly welcomes in Dortmund, for instance. I'm not worried – if doesn't matter if a couple of people whistle, and if all 34,000 whistle or boo at me then it's OK too, my right ear isn't that good anyway."
