Demichelis stands firm: “If he doesn’t run, he’s never injured”

Martin Demichelis has come out strongly to defend RB Leipzig’s playing style after criticism that the team sometimes doesn’t run enough. As reported by kicker, the coach links that claim to squad availability and makes it personal with a blunt line: “The player who doesn’t run is never injured.”

Demichelis and the debate

In the same piece, kicker notes that under Demichelis, RB Leipzig are the Bundesliga side with the most sprints. Even so, the manager insists that the pattern driving some of the doubts isn’t about effort disappearing, but about how his team structures matches.

Injuries in the background

The argument lands at a moment when, per kicker, injury worries are increasing. Demichelis’ response is clear: he wants the conversation to move away from the idea that “not seeming to be there” automatically means a physical problem, and toward the tactical interpretation of his side’s football.

What happens next will depend on whether Leipzig can keep delivering the intensity Demichelis says is there, even as fitness issues start to weigh more. For now, the headline is that the coach is defending his identity—not backing down on it, as kicker frames it.