"Japan is a very important place" - Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO of Red Bull GmbH | Exclusive Interview

We will, as you may have also recently read in the press, bring in Jürgen Klopp as our overall head of football for this project. He will travel directly to Japan in January, get a picture of all those responsible, sit down with the coach, the sporting directors, and together with Mario here, put a lot of energy into implementing what we have announced. I believe that when you look at the football played by Red Bull teams around the world, one thing is important to us: that there is a recognition value. That means we don't want to play exactly the same everywhere, but we want to have a team everywhere that is very active, plays very intensively, plays very aggressive football, football that excites people. And that is of course something we want to see here. We are a group that lets people do things, we support people on the ground, and we let projects grow. We are convinced that with the existing potential and the know-how we can bring in, as Oliver mentioned earlier, we can play a very good role in the first league in the future. But this doesn't happen overnight; it's a long way. Basically, it's the same everywhere: we want to develop young players, we want to further develop Japanese football, and we also want to contribute here.

Yes, Japan is a fascinating country, a great country that I have known for many years. I have been here myself as an athlete, running a half marathon in Osaka. I was at the World Athletics Championships in Osaka several times, in Tokyo, in Kyoto. Yes, a country that I...

Yes, look, it's not that we have a ranking of what is more valuable and what is less. Everything has its right to exist. We thought for a long time about where we could get more involved in sports in Japan. Baseball is of course still the number one sport here, but football follows closely behind. When we see the many enthusiastic children and young people playing football, it was clear to us that there is a lot of potential here. And you can see that from the national team, which played a fantastic World Cup and is packed with many top players who all play football in Europe.

Yes, as I already mentioned, the World Cup was of course an expression of what Japanese football can do. And when we look at the many top talents playing in top European teams, this country has enormous potential in football. I believe that the league here is also developing step by step, and the goal must be that Japanese top talents also play longer in Japan and do not migrate to Europe too quickly.

Yes, that's really a question that... therefore I will only answer it superficially. I mean, the Japanese athlete stands for discipline, for diligence, for energy, for power. And these are things you also see in Japanese football, in the national team, and also in the games I have followed, that will and that 90-minute intensity is something that fits well with us at Red Bull, but also characterizes Japanese athletes.

Well, on the one hand, it is important for us that we play our football and that we can leave our footprint. It is important for us to help shape things. And when we put our logo on the jersey, we also want to know what happens on the pitch. If you look at our various football clubs, they play somewhat differently because they have different coaches, but it is fundamentally the same philosophy: we want to play a very intense game with young, highly talented players. That's why our interest is always great in not just being a sponsorship partner, but in helping shape topics, setting the right focus in the youth sector, and also further developing women's football.

Yes, the future will show. It also has to do with how Japanese football, the Japanese league, and eventually the J.League develop. As I said, many top players always have their eyes on Europe. But we believe there is a lot of potential here, not just for us but for Japanese football as a whole. If football develops here, as it does for example in the US, then the goal should be that these highly talented and good players play longer in this beautiful country.

Yes, Jürgen Klopp is of course an absolute expert. He has proven in his three coaching positions that he can develop young, highly talented players, that he has an understanding of a playing philosophy, that he can be a mentor, a motivator, and that he can inspire and carry away many people, not only the players on the pitch but also the people off the pitch, for his idea. All these facets will help us and help us here with RB Omiya to take the next steps. Jürgen Klopp is a part of what we are developing together with all those responsible on site and the fans.