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 \u2013 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 clich\u00e9d 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\u2019t always obvious. Nuremberg, Greuther F\u00fcrth, youth academy. A career like so many others in German football. He only \u201cstands out\u201d when you take a closer look: at the age of seven, David Raum moved to Greuther F\u00fcrth, 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 \u2013 as a left-back, of all things. \u201cI thought it was terrible,\u201d he says, laughing in a way that quickly makes clear that a lot of things were terrible back then.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":125815,"id":125815,"title":"david 1","filename":"david-1.jpeg","filesize":394549,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-1.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/the-man-who-delivers\/david-1\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"david-1","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":125813,"date":"2026-03-30 11:24:33","modified":"2026-03-30 11:24:33","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1281,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-1.jpeg","thumbnail-width":64,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-1.jpeg","medium-width":1281,"medium-height":1920,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-1.jpeg","medium_large-width":1281,"medium_large-height":1920,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-1.jpeg","large-width":1281,"large-height":1920,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-1-1025x1536.jpeg","1536x1536-width":1025,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-1.jpeg","2048x2048-width":1281,"2048x2048-height":1920,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-1.jpeg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":8,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-1.jpeg","wpvr_mobile-width":1281,"wpvr_mobile-height":1920}},{"ID":125816,"id":125816,"title":"david 3 3","filename":"david-3-3.jpeg","filesize":408705,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-3-3.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/the-man-who-delivers\/david-3-3\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"david-3-3","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":125813,"date":"2026-03-30 11:27:05","modified":"2026-03-30 11:27:05","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1281,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-3-3.jpeg","thumbnail-width":64,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-3-3.jpeg","medium-width":1281,"medium-height":1920,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-3-3.jpeg","medium_large-width":1281,"medium_large-height":1920,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-3-3.jpeg","large-width":1281,"large-height":1920,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-3-3-1025x1536.jpeg","1536x1536-width":1025,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-3-3.jpeg","2048x2048-width":1281,"2048x2048-height":1920,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-3-3.jpeg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":8,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-3-3.jpeg","wpvr_mobile-width":1281,"wpvr_mobile-height":1920}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"4","caption":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"
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\u2019s 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 \u2013 sports management. \u201cI never really admitted to myself that I might not make it,\u201d he says. \u201cBut there were moments when I struggled with myself.\u201d He doesn\u2019t 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 \u2013 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 Andr\u00e9 Matovic drilled defensive discipline into him day after day. Raum listened. \u201cOnce I accepted the role,\u201d he says, \u201cI was rewarded.\u201d 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 \u2013 even though he knows full well that it was he himself who refused to give up.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":125817,"id":125817,"title":"david 4 4","filename":"david-4-4.jpeg","filesize":433023,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-4-4.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/the-man-who-delivers\/david-4-4\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"david-4-4","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":125813,"date":"2026-03-30 11:29:20","modified":"2026-03-30 11:29:20","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1281,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-4-4.jpeg","thumbnail-width":64,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-4-4.jpeg","medium-width":1281,"medium-height":1920,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-4-4.jpeg","medium_large-width":1281,"medium_large-height":1920,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-4-4.jpeg","large-width":1281,"large-height":1920,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-4-4-1025x1536.jpeg","1536x1536-width":1025,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-4-4.jpeg","2048x2048-width":1281,"2048x2048-height":1920,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-4-4.jpeg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":8,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-4-4.jpeg","wpvr_mobile-width":1281,"wpvr_mobile-height":1920}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"4","caption":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"
The main theme of this issue of SLEEK is \u201cleadership.\u201d 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 \u2013 especially if he is young and comes from another country \u2013 Raum writes him a message. Before that player arrives. \u201cThe guys come from all over the world,\u201d he says, \u201cthey first have to settle in \u2013 emotionally as well. If that doesn\u2019t work, it won\u2019t work on the pitch either.\u201d A little message for the new team- mate: it\u2019s not a big gesture. Rather, it\u2019s what leadership means in the best sense of the word: it\u2019s 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: \u201cI play well so that you can play well.\u201d \u201cI was never the most talented player on my team,\u201d he states dryly. \u201cBut I was always the hardest working,\u201d he adds, \u201cand the most annoying, because I always wanted more.\u201d<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"
HIS DRIVE WORKS LIKE A MULTIPLIER, SAYS RAUM: \u201cI PLAY WELL SO THAT YOU CAN PLAY WELL.\u201d \u201cI WAS NEVER THE MOST TALENTED PLAYER ON MY TEAM,\u201d HE STATES DRYLY. \u201cBUT I WAS ALWAYS THE HARDEST WORKING,\u201d HE ADDS, \u201cAND THE MOST ANNOYING, BECAUSE I ALWAYS WANTED MORE.\u201d<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":125818,"id":125818,"title":"david 5","filename":"david-5-.jpeg","filesize":401324,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-5-.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/the-man-who-delivers\/david-5\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"david-5","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":125813,"date":"2026-03-30 11:30:05","modified":"2026-03-30 11:30:05","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1281,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-5-.jpeg","thumbnail-width":64,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-5-.jpeg","medium-width":1281,"medium-height":1920,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-5-.jpeg","medium_large-width":1281,"medium_large-height":1920,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-5-.jpeg","large-width":1281,"large-height":1920,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-5--1025x1536.jpeg","1536x1536-width":1025,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-5-.jpeg","2048x2048-width":1281,"2048x2048-height":1920,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-5-.jpeg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":8,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/david-5-.jpeg","wpvr_mobile-width":1281,"wpvr_mobile-height":1920}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"4","caption":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"
This \u201cmore\u201d 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 \u2013 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 \u2013 in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Raum was already in Qatar in 2022: all three group games, two assists, early elimination. \u201cThat was my first major tournament as a international player,\u201d he says. \u201cI learned a lot.\u201d He\u2019s 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. \u201cA tournament like this can shape an entire generation. You can spark something in the country with it.\u201d Not: We\u2019re going to win it. But: It\u2019s about more than just the trophy.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":125819,"id":125819,"title":"David 6","filename":"David-6.jpeg","filesize":489517,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/David-6.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/the-man-who-delivers\/david-6\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"david-6","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":125813,"date":"2026-03-30 11:31:00","modified":"2026-03-30 11:31:00","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1536,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/David-6.jpeg","thumbnail-width":77,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/David-6.jpeg","medium-width":1536,"medium-height":1920,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/David-6.jpeg","medium_large-width":1536,"medium_large-height":1920,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/David-6.jpeg","large-width":1536,"large-height":1920,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/David-6-1229x1536.jpeg","1536x1536-width":1229,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/David-6.jpeg","2048x2048-width":1536,"2048x2048-height":1920,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/David-6.jpeg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":10,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/David-6.jpeg","wpvr_mobile-width":1536,"wpvr_mobile-height":1920}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"4","caption":"All Photography by ANNIKA YANURA"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"
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. \u201cYou can\u2019t always please everyone,\u201d 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. \u201cI play what I feel.\u201d 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? \u201cStay true to yourself and stay authentic.\u201d Behind this lies a story of two and a half years of not playing, of a position he didn\u2019t want, of coaches he listened to, and of a path he didn\u2019t take straight ahead, but meandered \u2013 and yet ultimately arrived at.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"
Credits:<\/p>\n
Creative Production: NINA MARIA DAHMS, JOHANNA ERDL<\/p>\n
Concept Development: NINA MARIA DAHMS<\/p>\n
Creative Direction: ANTONIA DIPNER<\/p>\n
Photography Assistant: SOFIE JAKOB<\/p>\n
Light Assistant: DAVID J\u00c4GER<\/p>\n
Styling by: ANA-MARIJA KNEZEVIC at LIGANORD<\/p>\n
Styling Assistant: ANASTASIJA GOGOLEVA<\/p>\n
Hair and Makeup: THEO SCHN\u00dcRER<\/p>\n
using ARMANI BEAUTY & ORIBE<\/p>\n
Production Assistant: DYLAN DEMTR\u00d6DER<\/p>\n
Set Design: \u00a0JOHANNA ERDL<\/p>\n
Full Look: MARC O’POLO<\/p>\n
Shoes: NIKE<\/p>\n"}]},"yoast_head":"\n