On April 1, 1987 Red Bull went on sale in Austria for the first time.

Thirty two years and six months later, the energy drink manufacturer is now an all-encompassing sports brand.

From 15 titled sports teams — including two Formula One outfits — to countless extreme sports events, Red Bull are slowly becoming synonymous with all sport. Their endless portfolio of events and stunts – such as a world-record space jump – are perfectly suited to an age of viral content and thrill seeking.

It is, however, in football they have gained the most attention – and controversy. From Red Bull Salzburg to New York Red Bulls, FC Liefering, Red Bull Brazil and the crown jewel RB Leipzig, the energy drinks juggernaut continues to grow.

RB Leipzig have risen from division five to the Bundesliga under the ownership of Red Bull

Red Bull currently own five football teams and have targeted sustained success in Europe

Austria's Red Bull Salzburg were on the wrong side of a 4-3 thriller at Anfield on Wednesday

Erling Braut Haaland (right) came on to level the scoring at 3-3 before Liverpool's winner

FOOTBALL CLUBS OWNED BY RED BULL 2005 - Red Bull Salzburg (Austria) 2006 - New York Red Bulls (USA) 2007 - Red Bull Brasil (Brazil) 2009 - RB Leipzig (Germany) 2011 - FC Liefering (Austria) Advertisement

It is a journey that Andrew Sparkes, currently first team goalkeeping coach at Southampton, witnessed first-hand during seven years as an academy coach within the organisation — at New York and Salzburg — between 2005 and 2012.

He told Sportsmail: 'We know Red Bull as a brand and they have lots of money, but how they have invested it and developed it to where it is now, across stadiums and facilities and clubs, is just incredible.

'They like young, energetic people all through the company, who are hard-working, committed to the brand, and they have kept on building from there.'

It is important to note that Red Bull, owned by Dietrich Mateschitz, are far from the only organisation building a footballing empire – Manchester City's owners, as City Football Group, also have an MLS franchise in New York City FC, Australian club Melbourne City FC, and run Spanish side Girona alongside other investments.

None, however, have been quite as ruthless in the commercialisation process as Red Bull.

From the very start, their move into football caused great controversy.

Their first takeover, of Austria Salzburg in 2005, and its swift renaming as FC Red Bull Salzburg, led to the removal of all management and staff, the creation of a new badge and the establishment of the white-and-red kit colour scheme now sported by all Red Bull clubs. Officially, Red Bull are now only sponsors of the club.

So severe was the rebrand that every hint of the club's former violet colour scheme was removed and fans were reportedly ejected from games for sporting it.

Supporters were quick to set up a phoenix club in protest. That team, SV Austria Salzburg, are currently languishing in the regional Salzburger Liga, the fourth tier of the national structure.

Red Bull Salzburg, meanwhile, have won 10 Austrian Bundesliga titles in that time and spawned stars including Naby Keita and Sadio Mane.

Indeed, every takeover has led to the brutal and wholesale dismantling of the previous club's identity.

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry was an early big-name signing made by New York Red Bulls

New York MetroStars became New York Red Bulls in March 2006, to the concern of many fans. It initially attracted big names including Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill.

Sparkes was with MetroStars as development coach and remained with the new side after the takeover. He vividly recalls their first official match as New York Red Bulls, a 0-0 draw against New England Revolution watched by 36,000.

'The first game they did a massive marketing campaign beforehand. Shakira sang the national anthem, Wyclef Jean did a half-time show and Pele was an ambassador for the match. That is Red Bull, when they do things they do things properly.

'We knew from that point on it would be fascinating watching them grow.'

Andrew Sparkes worked within Red Bull as a goalkeeping coach between 2005 and 2012

There was plenty of pushback, on and off the field. Alecko Eskandarian scored for DC United in a 4-1 win and promptly celebrated by opening a can of Red Bull, drinking some and spitting it out.

Afterwards, he said: 'It was for fun, it was a big joke. A lot of fans felt disrespected, it wasn't my intention.'

However, for all the glitz and glamour, very little tangible on-field success has been achieved.

Despite winning their conference five times in the last decade, no MLS Cup has been secured. They were runners-up in 2009 and, similarly, they suffered a defeat in the 2017 US Open Cup final and CONCACAF Champions League semi-final defeats for the past two seasons.

Fan Dave Braneck told DW: 'With Leipzig's rise, Red Bull suddenly had a new toy to play with. New York went from a star-studded side to a farm team.'

Head coach Jesse Marsch quit New York to join Leipzig as an assistant in 2018 and was named manager of the Salzburg outfit in June in a typical example of the organisation's fluidity.

American midfielder Tyler Adams, at 20, made the move from New York to Germany this summer, with big things expected. He, along with Chelsea defender Matt Miazga, 24, is among the players Sparkes saw emerge from the academy.

In part due to this and the growth of football operations in Europe, their owner's funding has waned as attention turns to bigger challenges.

Jesse Marsch has coached at three Red Bull teams and is an example of their approach to staff

For Red Bull, the main target was always a presence in Germany and, more specifically, the Bundesliga. Initial plans to buy a club in Leipzig were vetoed by the DFB (German Football Federation) in 2006, while moves for more prominent clubs including St Pauli and Dusseldorf also fell through – partly as Red Bull felt a team with existing history would be a marketing disadvantage.

Eventually, the organisation settled upon fifth-tier SSV Markranstadt, located 13km west of Leipzig. Red Bull were not interested in the club, but instead their operating license for the league. Again, the old team was dismantled and an entirely new identity constructed, officially 'founded' on May 19 2009. Famously, as title sponsors were banned, the team became RasenBallsport Leipzig.

For every success – rising from the NOFV-Oberliga Sud to the Bundesliga by 2016 then a Champions League place a year later, under now Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl – the club has attracted criticism and protest throughout Germany for its apparent disregard for the non-commercial and democratic club structure in the country.

It is the only football club in Germany where members do not have direct voting rights — all 17 are employed by Red Bull — and such was the discontent at their presence that three early friendlies had to be cancelled over safety fears.

The fanbase at RB Leipzig has grown rapidly as the club has risen up from the fifth division

There are, of course, a trail of phoenix clubs rising where Red Bull have assimilated old teams, but that has not deterred fans, particularly in Germany.

The crowds have grown in accordance with the rise from the lower leagues, starting with an average of just 2,150 in 2006 to a peak of 41,454 at the Red Bull Arena in their first Bundesliga campaign in 2016, in a city where football has always held great importance.

Fans, however, are increasingly unhappy at the lack of input they have into the club, staging minor protests and calling for changes within Leipzig to conform to the accepted practices of other Bundesliga clubs.

Early in 2019, a statement from fan coalition Fanverband Leipzig read: 'We don't feel respected as fans and we don't feel taken seriously. We're used to that in other stadiums across the country but in our own stadium, we won't allow ourselves to be treated as the opinion-less, conformist consumers that other fan scenes accuse us of being.'

To this day, severed bulls' heads, provocative chanting and offensive banners greet Leipzig at many of their away fixtures.

RB Leipzig are, however, not the only club to possess a strong commercial interest, with Bayer Leverkusen owned entirely by pharmaceuticals giant Bayer and Wolfsburg inextricably linked with car manufacturer Volkswagen - but both have strong links to their native communities.

The difference, of course, is the sheer ubiquity of Red Bull and its growing presence in every market.

Still, the longer RB Leipzig and their owners persist, the more like a genuine club they become. They now have their very own ultras group, the Red Aces, and their first major silverware seems inevitable.

Indeed, the appointment of young coach Julian Nagelsmann this summer, snatching him from under the nose of Bayern Munich, was a huge statement of intent.

They also kept hold of young star Timo Werner, tying the striker to a new long-term deal in the face of interest across Europe for the Germany international.

Ralph Rangnick has been with Red Bull since 2012 and played an important role

For Red Bull, their footballing empire is not built merely on money, it is built on world-class sporting smarts as well.

They do not rely on Galactico signings, but instead on a sprawling network of global academies and a scouting system to bring young players into their set-up, and farming them out to the appropriate Red Bull side. It is not through coincidence that RB Leipzig possess the youngest starting XI in the Bundesliga.

Much of Red Bull's rise globally is down to veteran German coach Ralph Rangnick, who joined as sporting director in 2012 and enjoyed two spells as boss of Leipzig.

He now oversees Sport and Soccer Development for all clubs involved in the Red Bull group after handing over management reins to Nagelsmann this summer.

Danish striker Yussuf Poulsen has been with RB Leipzig since they were in the fifth division

Journalist Raphael Honigstein told Copa90: 'Part of the reason people hate them is because they are smart and they do things with a long-term vision. They see them (their clubs) as a vehicle for the marketing arm of Red Bull.'

Joshua Kimmich was an early success story, joining the club in the second division in 2013 before being sold to Bayern Munich in 2015 and earning full international recognition with Germany.

Sadio Mane also spent two years with Salzburg before leaving for Southampton, having been purchased cheaply from Ligue 2 Metz in 2012.

Defender Bernardo progressed from Red Bull Sao Paolo to Salzburg then Leipzig before earning the organisation £9million when he joined Brighton in 2018.

The organisation still have plenty of assets at all of their clubs, with the likes of defender Dayot Upamecano — subject of a £50million Arsenal bid last summer — and Werner the headline names at Leipzig.

Red Bull Salzburg also won the 2016-17 UEFA Youth League, such is their focus on youth development, with Austrian Second League side FC Liefering playing a key role as a feeder team.

From that victorious side, midfield stars Xaver Schlager, 22, and Hannes Wolf, 20, moved to Wolfsburg and Leipzig respectively last summer, the former for £13.5million.

Red Bull identified many bright young talents including Sadio Mane (L) and Naby Keita (R)

However, Red Bull also acted faster than anyone to snap up the prodigious Erling Braut Haaland from Molde in January, sending him to Salzburg. He reportedly rejected clubs including Juventus to make the move.

Sixteen games and an astonishing 19 goals later, the 18-year-old striker is one of the hottest young stars in Europe.

His goal in Salzburg's astonishing 4-3 defeat at Anfield on Wednesday night will give the Norwegian a more prominent spot in the shop window with compatriot Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keeping close tabs.

The fact that Salzburg scored three goals at the home of the European champions shows how much progress they have made in recent years.

All of the above will surely go for big money in the future – unless Red Bull prove they own a club that can compete for the very highest honours.

The hope is that Leipzig will be that club. A five-game winning run at the start of the season was only ended with a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich. They, along with Salzburg, are competing in the Champions League this season.

The likes of Christopher Nkunku, Ethan Ampadu and Ademola Lookman, all still under 22, were not wanted by bigger clubs but have found themselves wanted in Germany. Should they impress, their future options could be very exciting.

Paul Mitchell is soon to become Red Bull's chief of their Global Soccer Division

This is, in part, down to the influence of former MK Dons midfielder Paul Mitchell, head of recruitment and development at RB Leipzig who will become technical director of Red Bull's global soccer division in September.

Mitchell, who built his reputation at MK Dons, Southampton and then Tottenham, rejected the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal to continue his work with the drinks company he joined in January 2018.

The new role, based in England, will expand his responsibilities across the entire football portfolio and give him key decision-making powers over which players join which club.

Within the division, Red Bull have specific officials overseeing both outfield and goalkeeping positions across all their teams, fitting players, staff and teams together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Unity is a strong theme for Red Bull, according to Sparkes.

'They would bring all the coaches in from Ghana, Brazil, America, to have meetings about philosophies, identities and have a clear idea how they wanted to develop the goalkeepers. The same methodology, the same language.'

Sparkes believes this fluidity is Red Bull's real gift to football, and is a model many organisations may follow in future.

He added: 'The sharing of knowledge across all organisations was amazing. I couldn't do that with any other teams. It was having that access to different philosophies and coaching ideas that made Red Bull so different to work for.

'I could go to Salzburg whenever I wanted without anyone questioning it. That is quite unique. What Jesse Marsch has done, in coaching three teams, is unprecedented. Manchester City are the only ones that come close and they are a way behind.'

Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl is one of several Red Bull alumni in the Premier League

What is remarkable is that, after just 15 years of footballing operations, so many Red Bull alumni, players and staff, are visible in the upper echelons of the global game.

In July, Sparkes was appointed first-team goalkeeping coach at Southampton. There, he is working under Leipzig veteran Hasenhuttl, whose assistant is Richard Kitzbichler.

Sparkes worked with Kitszbichler while the latter was an analyst at Salzburg. More pertinently, ideas that originated with Red Bull are increasingly commonplace throughout the sport.

Sparkes added: 'Red Bull is a close-knit family. I knew people who knew Ralph and he knew people who knew me. It's a common thread.

'The terminology Ralph uses is the terminology and the language I am used to. When Ralph talks about an idea I know it from my time at Red Bull. That will only keep on spreading throughout football.'

From the outside, many concerns revolve around the possible implications of the different Red Bull clubs meeting in official competitions and whether that was fair.

RB Leipzig did play Red Bull Salzburg in two Europa League games in September and December 2018, despite grave concerns from many parties over the shared ownership.

In order to ensure both club could play in Europe, UEFA insisted on sweeping structural changes, with staff who held dual roles at both institutions resigning their positions. Mateschitz now owns Salzburg directly with Red Bull, at least on paper, just shirt sponsors.

As it happened, Red Bull Salzburg won the first match 3-2 in Germany, and also triumphed 1-0 in the return.

RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg played each other twice in the 2018 Europa League group stage

Naturally, there have been numerous rumours and suggestions of Red Bull's interest in the UK sports market.

A move into English football is not entirely unlikely; they previously held talks with Leeds United over a sponsorship deal in 2013 that eventually broke down amid general disapproval from fans.

The general sense is that the organisation would be keen to have a presence here if the right opportunity became available but there is no urgency, according to Sparkes.

He outlined how Red Bull are after more than a simple sponsorship deal.

'Red Bull don't want to sponsor a shirt. If you sponsor a shirt, your logo is on the front but nothing more. They want to be in control of it all.

'The English market maybe has more tradition and history, so maybe that isn't right for them.'

Still, Sparkes is confident that the future will remain bright, whatever Red Bull choose to do next.

'When they first came to New York, we were interested to see how they would do it.

'They delivered everything they promised. They stuck to their word.'