Pete’s Impressive Comeback: The RBL Goalkeepers’ Season

A look back!

The goalkeepers of RB Leipzig cover the team’s back. They give commands to the defenders, the build-up of the game begins with them. And when things get tricky, they are the last line of defense before the opponent scores a goal.

The Red Bulls conceded 39 goals in the 2023/24 Bundesliga season, two fewer than the year before and the second-best figure in the entire league (on a par with VfB Stuttgart). Only champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen had to get the ball out of their own net less often (24 goals conceded). Our goalkeepers played a big part in that.

Janis Blaswich started the season as number one, while Peter Gulacsi was still recovering from the effects of his cruciate ligament injury. After Pete was fit again, he had to wait in the back seat for a while. He made his first appearances in the DFB Cup and Champions League.

In February, there was a change between the posts, Pete became number one again – and played a major role in RBL’s strong final spurt. Since the Hungarian national goalkeeper returned to goal at the beginning of February, we have not lost a single Bundesliga game in which Pete was in the starting eleven (13 games).

Behind the duo Gulacsi/Blaswich, Leopold Zingerle acted as an experienced backup in the 2023/24 season and impressed in this role. He was in the squad for 13 games and also ensured a high level of training.

Season with ups and downs

In the 2022/23 season, Janis Blaswich was thrown in at the deep end. After Peter Gulacsi’s serious cruciate ligament injury in October, he suddenly became RB Leipzig’s number one. The experienced goalkeeper lived up to this role impressively, he played a very consistent season and helped the team to win the DFB Cup with his saves.
The 2023/24 season has seen ups and downs for our number 21. At the beginning he was still the undisputed number one, as his competitor Peter Gulacsi missed the first few weeks due to injury. Janis initially cemented his position, kept his goal clean three times in the first five match days and also kept a clean sheet in the Supercup victory against Bayern.

Our goalkeeper’s good performances – even at Champions League level – brought him a special highlight in November: At the age of 32, Janis was called up to the German national team for the first time by head coach Julian Nagelsmann. Blaswich only sat on the bench for the matches against Turkey and Austria, but he was still delighted with this recognition of his work. “It came as a big surprise to me. I am of course very, very happy. I am simply overjoyed and grateful,” said Janis at the time.

The turning point

Unfortunately, the new year started off badly from Janis’ point of view. RBL suffered three defeats in the Bundesliga, conceding nine goals against Frankfurt (0:1), Leverkusen (2:3) and Stuttgart (2:5). Our coach Marco Rose then decided to make a change between the posts. Janis was number two again from then on.
However, he still made two appearances before the end of the season. In the narrow defeat in Munich (1:2), Janis once again stood in for the injured Gulacsi and played a great game. And on matchday 34 at Eintracht Frankfurt (2:2) he once again stood between the posts for one last time this season.

Even though this season had its ups and downs from Janis’ point of view, he can be proud of his achievements and his call-up to the national team.

Janis’ Season Stats

All stats at a glance

Janis Blaswich: Season Stats 2023/24

27 appearances (21x Bundesliga, 5x Champions League, 1x Supercup)
6 clean sheets (5x Bundesliga, 1x Supercup)
39 goals conceded (30x Bundesliga, 9x Champions League)
47 saves in the Bundesliga, 61 percent save rate

Plus one: Peter Gulacsi extends his contract!

Impressive Return

It is not an easy task to fight your way back after a break of several months. But Peter Gulacsi has shown how it can be done! With patience, perseverance – and class
The 34-year-old slowly got back into action after recovering from a cruciate ligament injury. His first appearances came in the first two rounds of the DFB Cup against Wehen Wiesbaden (3:2) and VfL Wolfsburg (0:1) as well as in the 2:1 win against Young Boys from Bern (2:1) on the last group match day of the Champions League. Pete also wore the captain’s armband in these games because Willi Orban was injured.

Back to the regular place

At the beginning of February, his time came when Marco Rose decided to put Peter Gulacsi between the posts again to stabilize the defense. In his comeback, our number one kept a clean sheet (2:0 against Union Berlin) and said afterwards: “It felt really nice to be back in goal in the Bundesliga. This is my city, this is my stadium. That’s why it’s something special for me.”
This meant that Pete was back just in time for the Champions League round of 16 matches. He did a great job against Real Madrid, but we still ended up losing to the eventual champions.

In the Bundesliga, Pete’s return gave the whole team a boost. From the moment he returned to goal, there were no more defeats with him in the starting line-up. The only other defeat was narrowly in Munich, when Pete was absent with muscular problems.

Pete’s Season in Numbers

Stats at a Glance

Peter Gulacsi: Season Stats 2023/24

18 appearances (13x Bundesliga, 3x Champions League, 2x DFB-Pokal)
5 clean sheets (5x Bundesliga)
15 goals conceded (9x Bundesliga, 3x Champions League, 3x DFB-Pokal)
33 saves in the Bundesliga, 79 percent save rate

Experienced Backup

Leopold Zingerle joined our goalkeeper team for the 2023/24 season. The 30-year-old began his career in the youth team of FC Bayern Munich and played in the senior division for SpVgg Greuther Fürth, 1. FC Magdeburg and SC Paderborn 07. In Paderborn he played 140 games, 28 of them in the Bundesliga.
After his move to RBL, Leopold said: “Being able to play for a club that competes for titles every year is something very special for me. I am very happy about the move to RB Leipzig. The level in the goalkeeper team is very high, as is the level in the entire squad.”

At RBL, Leopold’s job was to ensure a high level of training as number three and to always be there when he was needed. Leopold was in the squad for 13 games, but did not play in any competitive matches. His contract runs until 2025, and he will continue to be an important part of the squad next season.