Jupp Heynckes was on the sidelines as coach the last time Leverkusen were autumn champions. That was 14 years ago – and one or two Leverkusen players may be concerned about the parallels to the current season. The Werkself marched through the first half of the season undefeated and was in the process of defeating the “Vizekusen” curse. But things turned out differently for the team around Sami Hyypiä, Stefan Kießling and the young Toni Kroos. Once again Bayern pulled away, Leverkusen only finished fourth, eleven points behind the champions.
If Bayer wins at FC Augsburg at the start of the new Bundesliga year on Saturday (3:30 p.m., Sky), the team will be autumn champions again – or more precisely, first round champions, autumn has long since given way to frosty January, and only now is the 17th matchday at. It’s the coldest place at home, Leverkusen, like many other Bundesliga clubs, decided not to have a winter training camp in the south. The window before the first game is too short, the time on the training pitch is too valuable, the construction sites that coach Xabi Alonso has to clean up are too big. Leverkusen has been hit hardest by the cancellations at the Africa Cup.
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Two thirds of Bayer’s defense are absent, with Odilon Kossounou (Ivory Coast) and Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso) defending for their national teams. Winger Amine Adli was also called up for the Moroccan team. And then there’s Victor Boniface.
The Nigerian scored 17 points in the first 16 league games, only Bayern’s superstar Harry Kane and Serhou Guirassy from VfB Stuttgart were better. Bayer is particularly hurt by the fact that the 23-year-old will be out with a hamstring injury, not just during the Africa Cup of Nations, but until the beginning of April.
Autumn champions Hoffenheim collapsed without a striker
It is difficult to predict how badly the loss of the top striker will really affect the Werkself. But for the autumn champions with an injured attacker, memories of Hoffenheim’s fabulous 2008/09 season suddenly flash back. TSG, promoted at the time, were sensationally in first place after the first half of the season – especially thanks to Vedad Ibisevic, who scored 18 goals. The Bosnian was seriously injured during the winter break: he tore his cruciate ligament and ended the season. Hoffenheim slipped to seventh place.
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In Leverkusen, a lot of responsibility now falls on attacker Patrik Schick. This is a risk for the league leaders, as the Czech was injured in his adductors for over a year. Leverkusen upgraded with Boniface in the summer, partly because of Schick’s vulnerable muscles.
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Although Schick proved his back-up qualities with a hat trick in the 4-0 win against VfL Bochum shortly before the winter break, the 27-year-old also scored a goal in the Werkself’s only winter test, a 4-1 win against Italian second division club Venice. Schick’s compatriot and fellow striker Adam Hlozek even scored twice, but his performance has been too inconsistent this season. Leverkusen has to look for replacements for the replacements.
FC Bayern in “unusual role of hunter”
In many ways, however, the greater pressure lies on the pursuer. The fact that FC Bayern only winters in second place makes the situation so rare. The last time a team was better than Bayern at the Saisonbergfest was in 2019/20, RB Leipzig. Thomas Müller confessed: “Due to Leverkusen’s strong performances in the first half of the season, we are currently in the somewhat unusual role of hunter.” There is also a new form of winter preparation.
The German record champions and Qatar Airways ended their cooperation in the summer, and the winter training camp in the desert state no longer existed. Instead, the Munich team will fly to Portugal for five days – but only after the game against Hoffenheim on Friday (8.30 p.m., Sat.1 and DAZN), which is dedicated to the late Franz Beckenbauer. “Of course we want to keep the pressure on Leverkusen. We want to be at the top of the table,” said Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel. A clear message towards Leverkusen.
Bayern’s defense chief Min-jae Kim plays for South Korea in the Asian Cup
Quelle: picture alliance/GES/Marvin Ibo Güngör
If possible, a new defender should be signed soon. The Munich team also has a defensive bottleneck because of the Africa and Asian Cups because Noussair Mazraoui and Minjae Kim are not available. The new sports director Christoph Freund has to prove himself in his first transfer period – and ideally sign a defensive all-rounder.
Mukiele, Dragusin, Dier – Bayern have to step up defensively
The club is “currently in the process of finalizing one or two deals,” Freund told DAZN last Friday. Specifically, he could mean Nordi Mukiele. The former Leipzig player in the service of Paris Saint-Germain can not only play in the center of defense, but also as a right-back. It is said that FC Bayern is looking for a loan with an option to buy.
The Munich team also tried hard to sign Radu Dragusin from CFC Genoa. However, the Romanian is drawn to Tottenham Hotspur, which in turn makes Eric Dier’s departure from London more likely. Dier would meet his friend Harry Kane in Munich. Tottenham’s central defensive man was on the pitch with no other player as often as with striker Kane. The duo played a total of 359 games together for Spurs and the English national team.
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Kicker, Communio, Kickbase
The Munich team also partly brought themselves into this awkward defensive situation. In the summer, three defenders left the champions: Benjamin Pavard (Inter Milan), Lucas Hernández (Paris Saint-Germain) and Josip Stanisic (Leverkusen) – exactly the types of players they are looking for Have to look for a friend.
Josip Stanisic is coming into focus at Bayer
Stanisic’s departure in particular raises questions in the current situation. The Croatian has only played six games for Bayer, but is now coming into the spotlight. Because Kossounou and Tabsoba are fighting for the Africa Cup, Stanisic has a regular place in the coming weeks.
Josip Stanisic moved from FC Bayern to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer
Quelle: picture alliance/Jens Niering
This may also be the case when the two title contenders meet. The course for the championship could be set in the Leverkusen stadium in four weeks (Saturday, February 10th) – and not just in April, when FC Bayern meets Borussia Dortmund.
People in Leverkusen are aware of this scenario. “A season is a marathon. It was just a preliminary round, unfortunately. But we want to give everything that we can end up where we are today,” said midfield strategist Granit Xhaka. In any case, winning the championship, DFB Cup and Europa League was “expected too much. But let the people outside dream, like we dream too.”
Bayern will not dream in the coming weeks and months. You have to hunt.
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