"That gives me so much confidence": Why Baumi is flourishing at RBL | OneFootball

Christoph Baumgartner proved to be the difference maker against HSV, as his brace in Saturday's 2-1 victory was enough to claim all three points at the Red Bull Arena. With yet another star performance under his belt, the Austria international is impressively living up to the ambitious goals he set for himself this summer.

"I wasn't satisfied with my first two years here," he said back in July, speaking at the training camp in Donaueschingen. "I'm determined to change that this season."

And Baumi is doing so in style - after seven games played, the forward has four goals to his name, already beating his tally from last year's Bundesliga season (2 goals, 1 assist in 31 games).

New role, new confidence

The secret to Baumi's scintillating new form may lie in a change to his position on the pitch. "I'm not a natural winger and also definitely not a lone striker," he emphasised in the summer. "I feel really comfortable with the way the coach wants us to play."

Under RBL head coach Ole Werner, the 26-year-old has become a key component in the midfield, taking on an attacking role from the centre of the park. "Since he took over here, we've had a really great relationship," Baumi revealed. Ole made it clear to him early on that he was a crucial element of the coach's plans for the side.

Even off the pitch, the Austrian has taken on another level of responsibility, having been named a member of the team council this year. It's impossible to deny that Baumi is flourishing in 2025/26.

And if that wasn't enough, he was recently honoured with the European Fair Play Diploma for his inspiring work promoting development projects in Uganda.

"I want to keep this up for as long as possible"

"At the moment, I've really been able to help the team get results. Now it's about keeping this kind of form up for as long as possible," he said. Something particularly raising eyebrows at the moment is his versatility. Whether as an ice-cold finisher in Dortmund or as the crucial cog in RBL's build-up play - Baumi is at the centre of it all.

He shed some light on his incredible momentum with a wink: "Maybe it's got something to do with the fact that I've been training less than usual over the past few weeks due to some slight pain in my foot," he grinned. "But joking aside, I can feel the way my standing in the team has grown a lot. That gives me so much confidence."

Special praise from the coach

After Baumi's brace sealed the win against Hamburger SV, Ole Werner could only wax lyrical about Leipzig's new main man. "He is such an intelligent player, who always knows exactly what kind of space he should look to exploit," said Ole during his post-match press conference. "He understands the game to an incredible degree and is able to knit the play together brilliantly. He plays such an important role in this team."

While of course impressed, the boss is far from surprised to see Baumi operating at such a high level so far this season. "If you watch what he's able to do in training, how he anticipates what's going on around him and the effort he puts into every game and every session, then you'd realise that this form is what we can expect from a player like him."

"I've got a great feeling about this season, and I can't wait to get up and running," said Baumi back in the summer. His was clearly right in his convictions, and for now, there's nothing to suggest that RBL's dynamo is going to let up any time soon.

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