Despite what the form books might suggest, David Raum has warned against complacency when RB Leipzig travel to Bayern Munich this weekend. Find out what the Leipzig captain and Germany international left-back had to say on that and more...

Bundesliga: Saturday evening, Kompany against Demichelis - two really big names who used to play together at Manchester City. Is this Bayern-Leipzig clash coming at the right time, considering that since the international break, Bayern have played twice and only drawn against Augsburg and Viking?

David Raum: “I don’t know if there’s a right time to face Bayern. If they’re struggling a little bit, they might be angry and want to win at home. If they’re in a good mood, maybe they’re flowing. So I don’t know if there’s a right moment to face them. But for us, it’s good that we’ve had two big wins and two games in which we conceded no goals. So we’re going to Munich with our chests out, and let’s see what they’ve prepared. They play with anger, so we need to put in a good performance and show a good face to get something in Munich. But we’re really looking forward to playing there and are happy to go there with two wins [behind us].”

Bundesliga: What does the midweek UEFA Champions League win over PSV Eindhoven mean to you?

Raum: “Not to me, to the whole team and the whole club. It’s a big achievement. We didn’t start this Champions League season perfectly, so the home win and the first three points in the Champions League were very important for us. We were very happy about the win yesterday, and it gives us energy for the next important games and the coming weeks.”

Raum is enjoying his second season as Leipzig captain. - IMAGO/Billman Dube

Bundesliga: What stands out about your coach, Demichelis, and what impresses you most about him?

Raum: “I think it’s his energy, which he’s had since the first day he joined this club. He has amazing energy on and off the pitch, always ready to have intense speeches and talks with us, whether one-to-one or with the whole team. He’s always helping us, talking to us and staying close to the team. On and off the pitch, during games, he’s always there with intensity and pushes the team to the maximum. I really like his energy and his Argentinian spirit. He brings this into the team, and for me personally, as a spirited player, I like this type of coach.” 

Bundesliga: Last Saturday’s 6-0 home win against Frankfurt was your 150th competitive game. What does that mean to you?

Raum: “It was nice. Afterwards, I had a nice dinner here in Leipzig with my closest friends and my wife. Winning 6–0 in my 150th game was also very special for me. I’ve been here for so long now, although it doesn’t feel that long. I’ve grown here as a player and as a person, so I’m very happy to have reached this milestone.”

Watch: Leipzig 6-0 Frankfurt - highlights

Bundesliga: What memories do you have of your time at your youth club, Tuspo Nürnberg?

Raum: “Only good memories. My father was my first coach, and my brother was already playing for the club. I was running onto the pitch with a ball at the age of three, chasing after it, and then I played there until I was eight. It was always fun to go there. It was close to my home, so I could always cycle there. It was the beginning of my football career, so I’ll always have a place in my heart for this club. It’s also very special to me that my dad was my first coach there. So I only have good memories of this club and that time.”

Bundesliga: How did the move to Greuther Fürth come about?

Raum: “I think we played a friendly against Fürth with Tuspo Nürnberg, and I think they won 7–4 or something like that. I scored all four goals for my club. Afterwards, my parents got a call from my youth coach at Greuther Fürth, who asked me to come along to a training session. I went to the training session, and afterwards they said I could play for them. I’m also very grateful to my parents for driving me to Fürth every day, a half-hour journey, so I could go to training, and then driving me home afterwards. That’s how the move to Greuther Fürth came about. I spent 15 years there on a long journey towards becoming a professional and taking my next step into the Bundesliga. I’m also grateful to that club.”

Bundesliga: What was that like for you as an eight-year-old boy?

Raum: “I don’t have many strong memories of it. I think I was just enjoying playing football and playing with my friends. At that age, I wasn’t thinking competitively; I was just having fun. From year to year, I got better, and the dream started to feel more realistic, as though I could actually achieve it. The last few years were tough, but then I made it. I had some difficult first years as a professional, but in the end, I found my way. As an eight-year-old, I don’t think you can fully grasp the moment or the feeling that becoming a professional is really possible. You’re just enjoying the game. But in the end, I made it, so I’m very happy.”

Raum played for Greuther Fürth and Hoffenheim, before joining Leipzig in summer 2022. - Pressefoto Rudel/Robin Rudel via www.imago-images.de/imago images/Sportfoto Rudel

Bundesliga: Which key figures played a major role in your development into a professional footballer?

Raum: “You mean people? In my career? The coaches in particular. I think every youth coach I had, my teammates and, above all, my family. As I said, my mother drove me to training every day, and my dad supported me at every game on the weekends and drove me everywhere. My brother also took me to the football pitch in the city, where we played with his friends. They were always three years older than me, so I learned to fight my way against older and bigger guys. That might be why I’m so physical in my game.

"Then there’s also my wife, to be honest, because she was there for me during my first years as a professional, when my career was nearly going downhill and I almost had to stop playing football or do something else because things weren’t working out. But she was always there for me and helped me through it. So, my wife, my parents, my whole family, especially my grandparents, who were always supporting me, and my friends, of course, the close friends I’ve had since then, as well as all the coaches I’ve had over the years.”

Bundesliga: David Raum, aka “100% mentality”. Are you a Jürgen Klopp player?

Raum: “That’s what he stands for, right? Giving 100% on the touchline and always on the pitch. His whole team always gives 100%. I see myself as a player with a strong mentality and as a physical player who always gives 100%. It’s in my DNA. So maybe I fit perfectly with his idea of a player and a team. As I said, I’ve now spent about a week working with him as the national coach, and I was really impressed by how he does things, how he gives the team energy from the touchline during every training session, and how he thinks about the game. I really enjoyed it. If you say I fit perfectly, I’ll take that as a big compliment.”

Raum (l.) was part of Jürgen Klopp's (r.) first Germany squad during the September-October international break. - IMAGO/Gerhard Schultheiß

Bundesliga: What would have happened if your career as a professional footballer hadn’t worked out?

Raum: “Good question. I think I would have studied something. I always wanted to study psychology, maybe, because I’m really interested in psychology and working with people. Understanding how people think, how they struggle in life and how to help them is very interesting to me. Knowing everything about the mind is fascinating. Even after my career, maybe I’d like to help young players through this journey, because I think psychologists are becoming very important in football nowadays. The pressure is getting higher and higher, so maybe I would have become a psychologist.”

Watch: Raum on his musical passion

Bundesliga: Are you a psychologist for some of your teammates? Do they come to you?

Raum: “We have a very good psychologist here, but sometimes I help him out too, especially by talking to young players. Of course, they don’t have as much experience as I do. They might have more talent than me, but not the experience. So I help them by giving them some tips on how to handle the pressure of playing every three days. If I can help them, give them some confidence or help them think things through, I’m very happy. I just do my best every day to make sure everyone at this club feels good.”

Bundesliga: Does that mean that after your career, you might work as a psychologist at a professional football club?

Raum: “No, definitely not. I don’t want to work in football afterwards. Maybe I’ll do something else and help some players I know, or some friends, because a friend has a football agency. But I would only help out. I don’t think I’d ever work at a club, become a coach or assistant coach, or work in a TV studio or anything like that. I don’t see myself doing that. Definitely not.”

Watch: Raum explains his tattoos

Bundesliga: Which animal would you like to embody, and why? Which animal suits you?

Raum: “This might sound a bit funny because I play for the Red Bulls, but maybe a bull. Maybe a bull, because I’m also a Taurus. They’re very physically strong, and when they have something in mind, they just go for it. So maybe a bull suits me perfectly.”

Raum: “A book about my life? Maybe “Enjoy.” Just “Enjoy”. Or “Why not?” Both are good.”