RB Leipzig Frauen: A team ready for the next level – scout report

The stock of womens football has never been higher since the success of Euro 2022. Many leagues, including the WSL, are reporting exponentially higher attendance.

This tactical analysis will showcase a team that is on the rise, a team with a very exciting future. For this analysis, we are heading to Germany  a nation that has dominated womens football over the years. Wolfsburg have primarily been the main force of recent years, however, FC Bayern Frauen are hot on their heels this season. For this tactical analysis though, we are looking at a team in the 2. Frauen Bundesliga (though probably not for much longer).

RB Leipzig Frauen are enjoying a fantastic season  they are top of the league with a massive 11-point gap to second place Andernach. Saban Uzun’s team are also proving that they can not only hold their own against the Frauen Bundesliga sides but dispose of them comfortably as the recent 6-1 victory against SGS Essen in the DFB-Pokal Frauen proves. 

RBL are looking to build on last season’s third-place finish and by all accounts, it looks like they will be promoted. 35-year-old head coach Saban Uzun is proving that he has what it takes, his team are showing they buy into his tactics and are demonstrating on a weekly basis that it is effective.

Prior to becoming head coach at RB Leipzig Frauen, Uzun gained plenty of experience coaching at youth levels throughout German football, most recently Wolfsburg U23s. This knowledge is likely proving to be useful as Leipzig have a very youthful playing squad with some very talented players who will be highlighted in this analysis. 

This tactical analysis in the form of a scout report will assess the playing style of RB Leipzig Frauen, analysing how intricate off-the-ball movement and solid defensive blocks are the key to their success. This tactical analysis will also look at how they might get on in the Bundesliga next season. Additionally, this scout report will highlight one starlet to watch out for in the future of German football.

Formations

Saban Uzun’s tactical setup is incredibly fluid, therefore, RB Leipzig Frauen’s ‘preferred formations’ are rather difficult to quantify. For example, Wyscout indicates that Uzun primarily utilises a 3-5-2 and a 4-2-3-1 formation. Having watched a vast amount of games in order to study RB Leipzig’s tactics, their shape evolves and changes throughout the game depending on the situation. 

It would perhaps be more pertinent to look at RB Leipzig’s heat map to get a more accurate idea of the positions the players occupy. The visual below shows that whilst Uzun’s team are very flexible in their shape, they primarily operate in a mid-block which will be looked at further in this article. RB Leipzig Frauen also utilises the width of the pitch which of course is a common practice when using the 3-5-2.