Xabi Alonso (Tolosa, 1981) took Bayer Leverkusen into relegation promotion places… and now he is 24 games away from making history. They could be less, depending on how you look at it: 14 Bundesliga matches, seven in the Europa League and only two in the Cup separate the former Real Sociedad and Real Madrid player from banish, for life, the myth of ‘Neverkusen’.
The UEFA Cup won against Espanyol (1988) and the Cup won against Werder Bremen (1993) are the only two titles that appear in the BayArena showcases.. 31 years have passed since then and a series of misfortunes, each more improbable, have only contributed to fueling Bayer’s curse.
This week seemed key to putting an end to the ‘jinx’… and things couldn’t have started better. The comeback ‘in extremis’ against Stuttgart (3-2)third place in the Bundesliga, allowed Leverkusen to get into the semis of the DFB Pokal. One way, that of the Cup, which appears clear without Bayern, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig on the horizon. De ‘The Werkself’ will play with two ‘Segundas’ (Fortuna Düsseldorf and Kaiserslautern) and the winner of duel between Saarbrücken (Tercera) and Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 Stuttgart: summary and goals | German Cup (quarterfinals)
“The players have the desire to win something and the Cup is the shortest way. We are only two games away from the final,” Xabi recognized before eliminating the Swabians. “Many times we win by control, by structure, by stability… but this time we win with our heart and soul. That’s also very important,” he stressed, already exultant with the semi-finals in his pocket.
The players have the desire to win something and the Cup is the shortest way
Xabi Alonso
“We are already thinking about Bayern”
There was, however, not much time for celebrations.. “We can enjoy it a little, but only a little. We are already thinking about Saturday, about the game against Bayern. Tomorrow [por hoy] We will need a little rest and, starting on Thursday, we will start with the preparation. Many times the head is more important than the legs and now we have a very strong head.”
There is no lack of reason. Bayer Leverkusen welcomes Bayern with ‘half’ of the Bundesliga at stake. The ‘aspirin team’, who is leading with two points advantagehas become the great threat to put an end to the 11 consecutive Leagues that the Bavarians have won.
Xabi Alonso on winning the Bundesliga: “We have to show consistency in the long term”
His ‘roadmap’, for now, is immaculate. This season they don’t know defeat. They have 26 wins, four draws and… 90 goals scored!!! in the 30 matches that have been played this season among all competitions. They are just two games away from equaling the 32 unbeaten games that Flick’s Bayern had between 2019 and 2020, a historical record in Germany.
Leverkusen, as if that were not enough, has a third way, which leads to the Europa League final on May 22 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. They finished leaders of their group with full points [18 de 18] and already await rival in eighth. Last season they were already at the gates: they fell in the semi-finals against Mourinho’s Roma. Now, with more experience, they trust they can make the ‘leap’, also in Europe.
The Alonso method
The curse of ‘Neverkusen’
The truth is that the ‘jinx’ that accompanies Bayer is worthy of study. He has seen, since the Cup won in 1993, how he missed two Bundesliga titles – in three others he finished second -, a Champions League final and three Cup finals with everything in his favor.
They lost the League with an own goal from Ballack
The real curse begins on May 20, 2000. Leverkusen only needed one point on the last day to be League champions. However, the team led by Christoph Daum lost 2-0 against modest Unterhachingnow in the Third Division, with a goal by Michael Ballack in his own goal and handed the ‘Salad Bowl’ on a platter to Bayern.
In 2002 he said goodbye to three titles in 11 days
The ‘pupa legend’ grew in size in 2001-02, with Klaus Toppmöller on the bench. Leverkusen lost three titles (League, Cup and Champions) in 11 days!!! The bloodiest ‘KO’ was the one he suffered in the Bundesliga: It was the leader with a five-point advantage with three games remaining, but two defeats against Werder Bremen (1-2) and Nuremberg (1-0) meant that it did not even reach the lead on the last day.
“Maybe we will let out all the frustration we have inside against Manchester United and next weekend luck will smile on us and justice will be done, because We deserve to win the ‘Salad Bowl”, commented Toppmöller. It was not so. Leversuken eliminated United to get into the Champions League final… but ‘BVB’ did not fail and won the Bundesliga.
The Rhineland painting received a new setback in the run-up to facing Real Madrid in the Champions League final. They were beaten by Schalke (4-2) on May 11 in the Cup final. And they took the lead on the scoreboard, in the 27th minute, through Dimitar Berbatov.
The finishing touch came on May 15 with the defeat against Madrid (1-2) in the Champions League final. Raúl struck first, at 9′, Lúcio equalized at 14′, but Zidane’s volley in the 45th minute certified the white victory at Hampden Park. And if that was not enough, four Leverkusen players (Ballack, Schneider, Ramelow and Neuville) ‘bit the dust’ a month later in the 2002 World Cup final against Ronaldo Nazário’s Brazil (2-0).
Two more lost Cup finals
Leverkusen, since then, has added two new ‘disappointments’ to its long list of misfortunes. In this case they have been in the form of a lost Cup final.
In 2008-09 he ‘knelt’ against Werder Bremen. His ‘executioner’ was an old acquaintance of Real Madrid fans: Mesut Özil scored the goal ‘knocked down’ the team then led by Bruno Labbadia, which had in its ranks Gonzalo Castro, Arturo Vidal, Rolfes, Kiessling, Kroos and Barnetta.
The list of Bayer disasters, to date, It is completed by the Cup final lost in 2019-20 against Bayern (2-4). He barely put up a fight. Goals from Alaba, Gnabry and Lewandowski put them 0-3 down on the scoreboard. Finally, Sven Bender and Kai Havertz ‘made up’ the result for Peter Bosz’s pupils.
A long ‘black legend’ that Xabi Alonso hopes to put an end to.
2024-02-08 15:38:27
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