Schröder praises “super sub” Nusa, Rose calls for dialogue with RB fans over boycott

New RB Leipzig signing Antonio Nusa immediately has immediately made his presence felt for his new German club. The 19-year-old scored the game-winning goal for the German Red Bulls in their 2024/25 Bundesliga opener against VfL Bochum on Saturday afternoon. The seven-times-capped Norwegian international also scored in the Pokal last weekend. In both cases, he netted a goal just after coming on. 

Incredibly enough, the teenage talent has two RB tallies in his account after just 42 minutes as a substitute off the bench. Leipzig sporting director Rouven Schröder could only state the obvious in his post-match interview with Sky Germany. The €15-million-valued player counts as quite the phenom. Nusa scored one minute after coming on in the Pokal. It took him four minutes after entering this time.

“He’s already very, very mature for his young age,” Schröder raved during his interview, “He reads situations and is incredibly quick to process them. He took advantage of the moment. [With sarcasm in his voice] it took him a little longer to do it today.”

“I came on and wanted to have an immediate impact on the game,” the player himself added in his own post-match interview, “I didn’t think about scoring another goal so quickly – the important thing was that I could help the team after coming on and do my job.”

Despite their maximum-points start to the new campaign, matters aren’t necessarily all within the East Germany company club. Leipzig supporters organized a ten-minute atmosphere boycott on Saturday to protest the fact that the club banned registered away choreographies in response to pyrotechnic violations.

Leipzig ultra groups were particularly peeved that a planned choreography celebrating the club’s 15th anniversary could not be coordinated due to the harsh new RB rules. The club’s position is that away choreographies render it too easy to smuggle in pyro sticks.

Rose spoke on the matter at the post-match presser.

“As their coach, I’d like to engage with the fans in dialogue,” Rose said, “We have to get together and sit together; talk about what the issue and problem is. The club has its interests and the fans have their interest.”

“The fans must absolutely be present because it’s makes more sense to us and is more fun for us,” Rose continued, “We need to talk with each other and not over each other. I would be glad to help personally, but I must hear the grievance first.”

“We can’t simply say that the club pays the pyro fines and that’s that,” he concluded, “We have to get together and I’m the first to say that I’ll participate. We have to get together.”