THE MAN WHO DELIVERS

There are days when DAVID RAUM delivers packages. At least for SLEEK. On this February afternoon in Berlin, the international player slips into the role of a courier and steps in front of the camera with a composure that at first seems ironic, but then reveals itself to be part of his character. A little later, he poses as an elementary school teacher, then as a delivery driver. The roles change, but his face remains the same: open, alert, a little amused. As if Raum were the only one here who knows exactly what counts. The photo shoot is a play on identities – and yet it hits a nerve. Because what David Raum embodies in each of these roles is basically the same thing: someone who delivers. Not in the clichéd sense, not in the sense of football jargon, but in the literal sense: reliable, methodial, without making a fuss. Raum, 27 years old, left-back at RB Leipzig and team captain since this season, is one of those rare athletes who, after a conversation, leave you with the sense that they have really thought things through. That wasn’t always obvious. Nuremberg, Greuther Fürth, youth academy. A career like so many others in German football. He only “stands out” when you take a closer look: at the age of seven, David Raum moved to Greuther Fürth, at 16 he was allowed to train with the pros for the first time, and at 18 he made his debut at the Allianz Arena – as a left-back, of all things. “I thought it was terrible,” he says, laughing in a way that quickly makes clear that a lot of things were terrible back then.

What followed was a dry spell, which Raum talks about with remarkable clarity. Two and a half years of hardly any playing time in Germany’s second division. Five minutes here, ten minutes there. The thought of being loaned out to the third division. The idea of starting a correspondence course – sports management. “I never really admitted to myself that I might not make it,” he says. “But there were moments when I struggled with myself.” He doesn’t push these moments away; nor does he dramatise them. He describes them as what they became for him in retrospect: a learning experience. The turning point came when Raum stopped fighting – at least in the sense in which it is often misunderstood: as insisting on his own ideas. Coach Stefan Leitl persuaded him to commit to the left-back position. Assistant André Matovic drilled defensive discipline into him day after day. Raum listened. “Once I accepted the role,” he says, “I was rewarded.” One year later: Bundesliga transfer, national team, U21 European champion, Olympics. All in twelve months. David Raum describes this time with a subtle sense of wonder, as if he were talking about someone else – even though he knows full well that it was he himself who refused to give up.

The main theme of this issue of SLEEK is “leadership.” A word that is often used too quickly in sports discourse. Raum is interested in all of this, but he approaches it differently. When a new player joins RB Leipzig – especially if he is young and comes from another country – Raum writes him a message. Before that player arrives. “The guys come from all over the world,” he says, “they first have to settle in – emotionally as well. If that doesn’t work, it won’t work on the pitch either.” A little message for the new team- mate: it’s not a big gesture. Rather, it’s what leadership means in the best sense of the word: it’s the little things that no one sees because no one is supposed to see them. David Raum leads not by showmanship, but by consistency. On the pitch, he is one of those players who makes the passes that look easy but are actually difficult. He sets the pace without demanding the ball. He holds back so that others can protect the ball. His drive works like a multiplier, says Raum: “I play well so that you can play well.” “I was never the most talented player on my team,” he states dryly. “But I was always the hardest working,” he adds, “and the most annoying, because I always wanted more.”

HIS DRIVE WORKS LIKE A MULTIPLIER, SAYS RAUM: “I PLAY WELL SO THAT YOU CAN PLAY WELL.” “I WAS NEVER THE MOST TALENTED PLAYER ON MY TEAM,” HE STATES DRYLY. “BUT I WAS ALWAYS THE HARDEST WORKING,” HE ADDS, “AND THE MOST ANNOYING, BECAUSE I ALWAYS WANTED MORE.”

This “more” does not mean greed. It means precision. Raum wants to understand what he is doing and why. He learns by repeating. He grows by failing – and by not dismissing failure, but incorporating it into his analysis. Sir Gareth Southgate once said that the best players are not the most talented, but the most willing to learn. Raum nods when asked about this. The FIFA World Cup is coming up in 2026 – in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Raum was already in Qatar in 2022: all three group games, two assists, early elimination. “That was my first major tournament as a international player,” he says. “I learned a lot.” He’s not making any big promises for 2026. He wants to keep qualifying again and again, not coast on his last call-up, but prove himself through performance. “A tournament like this can shape an entire generation. You can spark something in the country with it.” Not: We’re going to win it. But: It’s about more than just the trophy.

Off the pitch, David Raum has built himself a parallel world. He has already played DJ sets twice at his local bar in Leipzig. His alias is Roomer. “You can’t always please everyone,” he says about the sound system in the locker room. What connects a left-back with electronic music? Raum thinks for a moment. A DJ set, he says, works like a match: you start calmly, read the mood, and decides in the moment. “I play what I feel.” But the attitude is the same as what drives him on the pitch: presence. Responsiveness. Not playing according to a plan, but according to what the moment requires. As the shoot draws to a close, Raum answers one last question: What would he say to his 16-year-old self? “Stay true to yourself and stay authentic.” Behind this lies a story of two and a half years of not playing, of a position he didn’t want, of coaches he listened to, and of a path he didn’t take straight ahead, but meandered – and yet ultimately arrived at.

CREDITS

Creative Production NINA MARIA DAHMS, JOHANNA ERDL

Concept Development NINA MARIA DAHMS

Creative Direction ANTONIA DIPNER

Photography Assistant SOFIE JAKOB

Light Assistant DAVID JÄGER

Styling by ANA-MARIJA KNEZEVIC at LIGANORD

Styling Assistant ANASTASIJA GOGOLEVA

Hair and Makeup THEO SCHNÜRER

using ARMANI BEAUTY & ORIBE

Production Assistant DYLAN DEMTRÖDER

Set Design  JOHANNA ERDL

Full Look MARC O’POLO

Shoes NIKE