Red Bull have found their man. Roger Schmidt — formerly of RB Salzburg, Bayer Leverkusen, PSV Eindhoven, and Benfica — will take over from Jürgen Klopp as Head of Global Soccer, with the 59-year-old due to start on October 1 on a long-term deal.
It's a hire that makes sense the moment you look at the CV. Schmidt isn't just a name plucked from a shortlist — he's been inside the Red Bull system before. He coached RB Salzburg from 2012 to 2014, won the Austrian league and cup double in his second season, and used that platform to earn a move to Bayer Leverkusen. That's almost a template for what Red Bull want to build globally: young talent, intense football, upward trajectory.
A return to familiar territory
Schmidt spent his last posting as Global Sports Director in Japan's J-League from October 2025, technically still under contract until 2027. Red Bull moved quickly, and Schmidt made himself available. That tells you something about where his ambitions sit.
Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff framed the appointment around philosophy as much as pedigree: "His clear understanding of our philosophy" was the phrase that stood out. This isn't a role where a hire comes in and reshapes the Red Bull model — it's a role where someone executes and refines it across RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg, New York Red Bulls, and beyond. Schmidt's track record of developing young players at the highest level fits that brief precisely.
The vacancy itself came about because Klopp was poached by the German FA to replace Julian Nagelsmann, who resigned after Germany's disappointing World Cup exit. Klopp's contract as Germany head coach now runs through the 2030 World Cup — and, notably, the DFB didn't have to pay Red Bull a penny in compensation, despite Klopp being under contract there until the end of 2029. How that was structured will remain one of football's more interesting behind-the-scenes stories.
What Schmidt brings to the portfolio
Across his club career, Schmidt proved he could operate in genuinely competitive environments — not just win domestic titles with financial advantages, but press high, build cohesive teams, and get results in the Eredivisie and Primeira Liga. PSV and Benfica are not lightweight projects. His Benfica tenure in particular showed he could manage expectation and pressure in a club-state environment.
For Red Bull's network, the question has always been whether the model scales — whether the philosophy that works in Salzburg translates to Leipzig competing in the Champions League knockout rounds. That's Schmidt's problem to solve now.
"Red Bull's international club portfolio is unique, ambitious and shaped by a clear philosophy of developing young talents while also being successful at the highest level," Schmidt said. "It is precisely this combination that makes this role particularly appealing to me."
He starts October 1. The infrastructure is already there. Now it's on Schmidt to keep it moving forward — and to do so without the global spotlight Klopp brought with him every time he walked into a room.
