Hamburg’s Yussuf Poulsen thanks RB Leipzig fans for ‘special’ homecoming tributes | OneFootball

As promised by the coach who named him captain of his new club, RB Leipzig legend Yussuf Poulsen logged some minutes off the bench in his return to the Red Bull Arena. Unfortunately for Poulsen, his late involvement couldn’t influence the outcome. Poulsen’s 14 minute shift – just his third league appearance in a Hamburg tricot – produced nothing of real note.

Poulsen’s involvement in Leipzig’s 2-1 win was minimal. Both before and after the match, however, the man who gave 12 years of his life to the German Red Bulls received the royal treatment. No other player in RB Leipzig’s short history exemplifies the club more than the Dane who joined them way back in the 3. Liga days.

Poulsen was honored via a special choreo from the FanKurve prior to kickoff. A montage broadcast over the stadium screens paid tribute to Poulsen’s best RB moments. Banners thanking Poulsen were strewn throughout the stadium over the course of the match.

Prior to kickoff, club chairmen Oliver Mintzlaff offered Poulsen an RB administrative position as part of the ceremonial proceedings that saw the Dane also pocket some club-made trophies.

Poulsen arrived late to the mixed zone having spent some time with the RB FanKurve after the full-time whistle, addressing the past and future before snapping back to the present.

“You don’t experience something like that every day,” Poulsen said of all the tributes geared towards him “It was very special for me. When my career comes to an end, that’s something that will remain with me.”

“First of all, I hope I still have a few good years ahead of me,” Poulsen said of Mintzlaff’s offer. “And I don’t know yet whether I want to do something in football after that.

“I’m the type of guy who gets over emotions,” Poulsen then added in a deliberate attempt to shift the focus back to the present. “I would have liked to have scored a goal at the end.

“This [Hamburger SV] is a good group with the potential to develop,” Poulsen concluded once he found himself back on the task at hand. “The fact that we managed to stifle RB and put them under pressure is significant.“

GGFN | Peter Weis