Dominik Kaiser: A meeting with a familiar face
RB Leipzig face an away trip to Hannover 96 and former captain Dominik Kaiser in this week’s DFB-Pokal quarter final | The now 33-year-old celebrated promotions from fourth tier to Bundesliga and was part of the side that became runners up in the top flight
Not many captains have had as big an impact on RB Leipzig’s history as Dominik Kaiser (167 games, 31 goals, 33 assists). Almost ten years ago, the then 23-year-old joined the club in the fourth division and was a part of the club during their rise to the Bundesliga.
The central midfielder is now preparing to take us on for the first time in his career when his Hannover 96 host the Red Bulls on Wednesday.
Dominik Kaiser and RB Leipzig: the next chapter
Dominik Kaiser is likely to have received a few text messages after the DFB-Pokal quarter-final draw. He may have even hoped for one more chapter in his RB Leipzig story – it’s certainly been a memorable one.
‘Domme’ joined the club in 2012 from TSG Hoffenheim after having represented TSG’s second team for two years. Then sporting director Ralf Rangnick knew the midfielder from his own time in Sinsheim. Kaiser enjoyed an impressive first season as a Red Bull, recording eleven goal involvements in 24 games as Leipzig won the fourth division and Saxony Cup before securing promotion via the third division playoff.
Standout player and captain
The midfielder was instrumental the next year – the club’s first and only season in the 3. Liga. With ten goals and twelve assists to his name, Kaiser was named third division player of the year as Leipzig won promotion to the 2. Bundesliga.
In January of the same season, Kaiser wore the captain’s armband for the first time and would go on to hold the role as club captain until the end of the 2016/17 season – the club’s maiden Bundesliga campaign.
RB Leipzig’s first-ever Bundesliga goalscorer
Kaiser impressed again during the second division. In each of the club’s two seasons in the division – the 14/15 and 15/16 campaigns, Kaiser recorded 13 goal involvements and eventually secured promotion to the German top flight alongside current Red Bulls Yussuf Poulsen, Péter Gulácsi, Emil Forsberg, Willi Orbán, Lukas Klostermann and Marcel Halstenberg.
Behind the aforementioned six players and Marcel Sabitzer and Diego Demme, who were also part of the promotion-winning squad, Kaiser sits ninth in the list of RB Leipzig’s all-time appearance makers.
Domme wrote his name in Leipzig history books once again when he scored the club’s first-ever Bundesliga goal. In an away game against TSG Hoffenheim which ended in a 2-2 draw, Kaiser found the back of the net in the 58th minute to cancel out the hosts’ equaliser to kick off a campaign that sensationally ended with a 2nd-place finish.
Domme looks to reach the semifinals
After two years in the Bundesliga with the Red Bulls, Kaiser departed the club, signing off in an emotional “Domme & Friends” friendly game. The midfielder’s next station saw him reunited with one of his former RB head coaches in Alexander Zorniger. In January 2020, Kaiser returned to Germany to join Hannover 96 in the second division.
It’s with the side from Lower Saxony that Dominik will now come up against his former club in the quarterfinals of the DFB-Pokal. The tie will be without a doubt an emotional one for the midfielder, whose trips back to Cottaweg in past years prove that RB Leipzig has a place in his heart. Despite all the emotion and sentiment, there’s no question that Kaiser will give his absolute all to advance to the next round of the cup with his Hannover team – that’s the Domme we know and love.
