AFPSupporters celebrate the championship
NOS Nieuws•gisteren, 20:36
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Chiem Balduk
Germany correspondent
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Chiem Balduk
Germany correspondent
Leverkusen is turned upside down. The eternal number two in the German football league is no longer Vizekusen, but Megakusen. After the win against Bremen tonight, the club is certain of the championship. Many fans in and around the stadium still can’t believe it. The tears flow freely, just like the beer.
“This is so important for us, finally a title,” said supporter Carola, who watched the match with her daughter on a grass field outside the stadium. She didn’t have tickets, but, like thousands of fellow citizens, she still wanted to watch the match. “Bayer 04 is our billboard.”
Few dare to make predictions in advance, although the club has gone through the entire season undefeated. “Only after the whistle will I believe it and I will cheer,” swears Leverkusen fan Marcel. The seller of scarves with the inscription ‘Leverkusen Deutscher Meister 2024’ also calls his own product “perhaps a bit premature”.
Secret of the club
But soon a goal follows, and then another. After the third goal, the tension disappears from everyone’s faces. The party can start. “It was meant to be,” a group of friends shout almost simultaneously.
After the whistle, fans without tickets start pulling at the gates outside. The stewards soon give up: a crowd rushes into the stadium. A father with his son on his shoulders beams on the field. Another kisses the center spot, with a joint in hand (“This is allowed!”).
The club’s secret? Almost all fans answer the same: trainer Xabi Alonso. “He has brought together exactly the right players. Alonso ensures that everyone contributes their piece to the team,” says slightly tipsy fan Peter. “Even the players on the bench do what they have to do.”
NOSSupporters went onto the field afterwards
The battle for the championship in the Bundesliga is not always exciting anymore. Every season started with high expectations, but over the past eleven years it always ended the same: with a title for Bayern Munich. The small Leverkusen has put an end to that dominance today.
Outside Leverkusen, too, people are enjoying the fact that Bayern is finally being dethroned. That even extends to the government. Health Minister Lauterbach, who comes from near Leverkusen, is happy that the Bayern era is finally over. “Such great attacking football with so much fun, that counts for more than five Bayern Munich championships.”
Leverkusen is not a beautiful city. You drive past it on the way from Düsseldorf to Cologne. The chimneys of the Bayer factories tower above the city. Next to the chemical park is a compact new-build center with some suburbs. Bayer is the city and also fully owns the football club.
AFP’We. His German champion. 2024′
Leverkusen has often been close to the title, but always finished second. “We were laughed at for years,” says a man in his fifties, pulling his friend towards him. “Partly because of him, he comes from Dortmund. And now I am the one who laughs,” he shouts confidently.
Beautiful pictures
Now that the title has been won, speculation about a championship celebration begins. Bundesliga tradition dictates that the national champion is honored on the balcony of the town hall, which leads to beautiful pictures in large historic cities such as Munich or Bremen. Problem: Leverkusen (165,000 inhabitants) does not have a town hall with a balcony. The town hall is located in an office building in a shopping center from 2010.
But Marcel, “fan since the 80s”, knows where the party should be held. “Here, in the stadium!” Moreover, they are worries for later, because they will only receive the championship scale after the last match.
The victory march is not over yet: on May 25, Leverkusen will play the cup final against Kaiserslautern. And they also play in the Europa League. “And next year we will win the Champions League,” says a supporter with a confidence that has only been seen among Bayern Munich fans in recent years.
Dutch international Frimpong pacer at Leverkusen title party
