End of the legends: Bayer Leverkusen wrote the story of the year in world football

The happiest place in Germany tonight (Sunday) was the Bay Arena stadium. When the final whistle sounded in the match between Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen, the championship celebrations began, but at that moment something else happened: the term “Neverberkusen”, which entered the lexicon over 20 years ago – was simply erased.

For years, a heavy shadow hovered over Leverkusen, a kind of “curse”, a deep feeling that if it didn’t happen then, when the team was so close to the championship, it would never happen. Certainly not when Bayern Munich is crowned champion even before the opening whistle of each season.

Each passing season only increased the myth and young fans, who were not yet born in the days of Klaus Topmüller, the legendary coach with the legendary mane of hair, knew the stories by heart.

For trauma therapists. Bayer Leverkusen fans, photo: AFP

When the German league reached the final round in 2000, the great Leverkusen led by midfielder Michael Ballack were leading the table and needed a draw against the little Untraching to win their first championship. But the players did not stand up to the pressure. Ballack scored an own goal, Leverkusen lost 2:0 and Bayern Munich won.

Two years later, the script repeated itself – threefold. Leverkusen led by a gap of 5 points with 3 rounds left to go, and in addition qualified for the final of the cup and the final of the Champions League. She collapsed again. They lost two of their last three games and left the championship to Dortmund, were defeated by Schalke in the cup final and lost to Real Madrid in the Champions final.

Although over 20 years have passed, these traumas have constantly hovered over the team, the coaches and the players. They hated the term “narcozen” – but they couldn’t escape it. Until Xavi Alonso arrived.

Xabi Alonso. Changed the fate of the club, photo: Getty Images

Alonso was a huge player. World champion with Spain in 2010 and one who won countless titles with Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, including two Champions League wins. From a young age, Alonso stood out as a leader, as an intellectual of the game. There was no doubt that he would be a coach, but he was always patient. He believed that the right way was the controlled elementary, and knew that he should gain experience and not rush.

Even before he was appointed in 2018 as a coach for the under-14 team at Real Madrid, he was offered senior positions elsewhere. But he decided to start from the bottom. A year later, Alonso was appointed coach of Sansa, the reserve team of Real Sociedad, the club where he began his career. He coached there for three years, much longer than everyone thought, and promoted the team to the second division for the first time since the early 1960s. At this time Alonso unexpectedly rejected a tempting offer from Mönchengladbach.

In May 2022, when he realized that he would not be able to accept Sociedad’s senior team, Alonso decided to leave. He waited patiently until October and then the offer came from Berkusen, which started the season very badly and was in the penultimate place. Xavi Alonso’s impact on Leverkusen was incredible. From a bottom team he turned it into a top team. She finished in 6th place and also reached the semi-finals of the European League.

But all of this was nothing compared to what Alonso and Berkusen did this season. Not only winning a historic and well-deserved championship, but also breaking all possible records. Until now the record belongs to Bayern Munich who won the championships of 1987 and 2013 with a single loss. In both cases the only loss was against Leverkusen.

Leverkusen players celebrate. Treble is not a dirty word, photo: AFP

In fact, Leverkusen is close to winning the treble. She will play in the cup final against Kaiserslautern from the second division and on Thursday she will try to secure a ticket to the semi-finals of the Europa League when she is hosted in London by West Ham, whom she beat 0:2 last week.

What is so impressive about the team is that it not only wins, but also plays spectacular football. Alonso put together an attractive team that does not stop moving the ball (63.4 percent of ball possession in the league) and makes amazing use of the wings using the three brakes method.

Both wing players provide crazy numbers. Alex Grimaldo who came from Benfica has so far scored 11 goals and 15 assists from the left wing and the Dutch Jeremy Frimpong has scored 12 and assisted 11 from the right wing. That means the two are involved in 49 goals together. The big star of the team is 20-year-old Florian Wirtz, according to many the greatest talent born in Germany in recent years, who is worth 110 million euros on the market today – and was bought four years ago from Cologne for 200 thousand euros.

Florian Wirtz. The crown jewel, photo: Reuters

The key game of the season was on February 10 when Berkusen hosted Bayern Munich, champions for the past 11 seasons. It was clear to everyone that if Bayern won, the championship season would also be theirs. But Xavi Alonso and his players surpassed themselves against the Bavarian Empire, winning 0:3 and giving a crushing answer to those who still doubted them until then. The irony of fate that the first goal was scored by Josip Stanishic, who came to Leverkusen from Bayern – the only player in the team who previously won a championship in Germany.

In its 18 games since the beginning of the year, Leverkusen won 16 and ended two in a draw. Although she plays in three different establishments, she does not take her foot off the pedal for a moment. And apart from quality football, she also shows a tremendous character.

This is reflected in the many goals she scored in the last few minutes. In the 0:2 against West Ham Leverkusen, she scored in the 83rd and 91st minutes. They beat Hoffenheim 1:2 with goals in the 88th and 91st minutes. The record was in the return match against Karabakh in the Europa League. Until the 72nd minute, Berkusen was behind 2:0 at home, but then came the Czech Patrik Schick who scored in the 93rd and 97th minutes on the way to a breakthrough and a crazy dramatic victory.

Patrick Schick. Kickstarted Leverkusen’s comebacks, photo: Reuters

Xavi Alonso became the most sought-after coach in Europe at an early stage of the season. Liverpool and Bayern Munich, who are looking for a new coach for next season, were ready to pay any amount to land him with them, teams he played for and has excellent memories of. But Alonso announced: “I’m staying at Leverkusen.” As at the beginning of his career as a coach, so also now, Xavi is not in a hurry. He wants to taste the Champions League next season with the team he built, and without the great pressure of clubs like Liverpool and Bayern. And besides, his big dream is to coach Real Madrid.

The script is actually already written. When the 2024-25 season ends Carlo Ancelotti will vacate his place at the Bernabeu, after introducing Kylian Mbappe. Then it will be Xavi Alonso’s turn to get the job. But there is still time for all this. Xavi Alonso is only 42 years old. He is still at the beginning of his coaching career. For the polite and pleasant Basque guy, the road won’t speed up. Until now all the decisions he made were correct, and the results only prove it.

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to join Xavi Alonso celebrates with Leverkusen players. He is in no rush, photo: Lars Baron/Getty Images Were we wrong? We will fix it! If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us