Ridle Baku Says Champions League Is ‘Very Important’ For RB Leipzig

Ridle Baku had a good game against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. The 26-year-old right-back covered 11.5 kilometres, had 43 sprints and 59 touches, and 70% of his duels and 100% of his one-v-one situations to help Leipzig secure a crucial 2-0 win in what remains a tight race for the Champions League spots.

“When it comes to Ridle Baku, you know you get at around 12 kilometres, 35 sprints and 36km/h,” Leipzig head coach Marco Rose said after the game. “That’s why he was an important player in this match: because you know what you will get. So, we opted to keep him on the pitch to keep working hard against our opponent.”

While there is nothing flashy about Baku’s game, the work ethic made Leipzig sign the four-time German international in a deal worth €4.5 million ($4.9 million) from VfL Wolfsburg last January.

“With this whole package, he fits perfectly with the RB Leipzig style of play,” sporting director Marcel Schäfer said at the player’s presentation in January. “Thanks to his experience of almost 200 Bundesliga games, he won’t need long to settle in and will be able to help us immediately.”

The RB Leipzig boss certainly knew what he was getting in Baku. Before joining RB Leipzig, Schäfer was the sporting director in Wolfsburg between 2018 and 2023. “I had a call during the winter, it was Marcel, and he told me: ‘we need you,’” Baku said in a roundtable interview. “It wasn’t a difficult decision; Leipzig is a club where you can win titles.”

With Benjamin Henrichs suffering a brutal Achilles injury, Leipzig needed more depth on the right flank, and Schäfer quickly identified Baku as the perfect player to fill the void. “The way of playing fits me very well, and I am happy to be part of the team and get lots of minutes,” Baku said about the move.

After almost five years in Wolfsburg, Baku felt the time was right to make the next step in his career. Furthermore, Leipzig was seen as the perfect next step, one of Germany’s top clubs that also played a style of football that was already familiar to Baku.

“I have had a few Austrian coaches like Oliver Glasner and Ralph Hasenhüttl before,” Baku said. Both coaches are, of course, familiar with the Red Bull style of football. Hasenhüttl, in fact, was Leipzig’s first Bundesliga coach.

“In my personal opinion, Leipzig is bigger than Wolfsburg,” Baku said. “That’s my personal opinion. The club is bigger; everything is bigger. I want to win titles, and the club wants to win titles and that was my main motivation to join Leipzig.”

Still, things have been difficult this season for Leipzig. Ahead of the victory against Dortmund, Leipzig has won just two of its last ten Bundesliga games. Even after beating Dortmund, reaching the Champions League next season is far from a certainty.

“This year has been a bit more difficult for us,” Baku said. “Unfortunately, we are not winning every game. But we want to be the team that can win every game, that is willing to win every game. You have to perform 90 minutes, not just 20 or 30 minutes per game. That’s the biggest issue that we are facing every week.”

That issue was also evident against Dortmund. While Leipzig had a strong first half, Dortmund dominated the second and, with a little more luck, could have won the game.

“It is frustrating when you are not winning games,” Baku said. “When you’re not in the rhythm but when you start winning, then players start to shine and everything just gets easier. The most important thing is just to keep going.”

The win against Dortmund could be a catalyst to kick off the rest of the season and secure a Champions League spot. “The Champions League is very important,” Baku said. “Since I been here, all I hear is Champions League, Champions League, and nothing else. It isn’t an option to play Europa League or Conference League.”

On a personal level, playing time also helps Baku make his way back to the German national team. The German senior national team hasn’t called up the 26-year-old since November 2021. That’s a lifetime in soccer.

What will it take to get back to the national team? “Playing time,” Baku said. “You want to be among the best players in Germany, so you need to be in shape and perform every week. That’s the most important thing, to be consistent, because we have a lot of good players in Germany. If you are not there, I am disappointed, but you just have to keep going.”

That performance was certainly there against Dortmund on Saturday. By the way, Dortmund’s side also impacted Baku personally. Baku’s father was a Dortmund fan and gave his son the nickname Ridle, which is now his legal first name.

Karl-Heinz Riedle was a big Dortmund player in the 1990s, and the two have been in touch. “He is a very kind guy,” Baku said. “My father’s idol, that’s why I have that name.” But was he a Dortmund fan growing up? “I just watched football,” Baku said with a smile. A diplomatic answer ahead of a must-win game against a rival.

On Saturday, Baku definitely didn’t look like a Dortmund fan on the pitch as he inflicted further pain on a season to forget for the Black and Yellows. Not that Baku would care. While Dortmund looks out of Champions League contention, Leipzig is still in the race.