RB Leipzig just announced Martín Demichelis as their new head coach, and on paper it looks like a slightly odd pivot. The Argentine left La Liga side Mallorca after a rocky finish to the season. Leipzig is betting he can fix what’s broken in Saxony.
The deal runs through June 2028. That’s a three-year commitment to a guy who’s been bouncing between continents for a while now. But Marcel Schäfer, Leipzig’s sporting director, sees something specific in the 45-year-old.
“Martín Demichelis is a coach who has worked at the highest level in Europe, South America and North America as a player and a coach,” Schäfer said. “That international perspective fits RB Leipzig and our global approach. He combines a clear style with intensity and real expertise. We believe he’ll give the team important momentum and help shape the club’s continued success.”
The résumé is all over the place. That might actually be the point.
Demichelis started coaching as an assistant at Málaga, then did some youth work at Bayern Munich — a club he knows well from his playing days. Then he jumped to River Plate in Argentina, won a league title there, and left for Monterrey in Mexico. After that came Mallorca, where things went south fast.
Leipzig is basically saying: We don’t care about the Mallorca record. We care about the guy who won in Buenos Aires and got the most out of a limited squad in Mexico.
It’s a gamble. But Leipzig has been trying to reset after losing several key players and failing to seriously challenge Bayern or Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. The Red Bull system has churned through coaches like Marco Rose, Julian Nagelsmann and Domenico Tedesco. Now they’re going with a guy who still feels like he’s building his identity.
Demichelis will inherit a squad that needs a defensive identity. Leipzig couldn’t keep clean sheets last season and often looked disorganized in transition. That’s where the Argentine’s background as a center-back might actually matter.
The club has not confirmed any additional staff moves yet. But sources in Germany suggest Demichelis will bring at least two assistants from his Mallorca days.
One thing to watch: How quickly he adapts to the Bundesliga’s pace and pressing demands. Leipzig under Nagelsmann was relentless. Under Rose it became more possession-heavy but less dangerous. Demichelis tends to build from the back with short passes but also likes vertical runs from midfield. It’s not a perfect fit for the Red Bull identity. But it’s not a rejection of it either.
The real test starts in July when preseason begins. Leipzig opens the 2026-27 season against Stuttgart. By then we’ll know if Demichelis is building something or just passing through.
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