“Xabi I.”, “King of Germany,” “Don Xabi”: The successes of the 2010 soccer world champion have also caused an uproar in his home country of Spain. The sports press showered the Basque, who led Bayer Leverkusen to the first German championship in the club’s history, with compliments and homage. But the “Werkself” title win isn’t just making headlines in Spain. An overview:
Spain:
“Marca”: “Xabi I. of Germany: Bayer Leverkusen conquers the first Bundesliga championship in its history. Bayer Leverkusen managed to do what neither Borussia Dortmund nor RB Leipzig managed at the time: to end Bayern’s tyranny. Goodbye ‘Neverkusen’, hello ‘Meisterkusen’. A fairy tale that began with the arrival of Fernando Carro in 2018. Xabi Alonso crowns himself King of Germany.”
“Mundo deportivo”: “Bayer Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso is already a legend. Leverkusen becomes champions with absolute dominance. Wirtz, the ‘Magician of Pulheim’, came off the bench and scored a hat trick. But Leverkusen is far from finished.”
“As”: “The Bundesliga has a new king. Bayer Leverkusen are champions. Xabi is master. Football is master. Total party. This feat will last forever. The dream that was impossible for Rinus Michels, Berti Vogts or Jupp Heynckes has come true thanks to a Spaniard who came from inexperience.”
“Sport”: “Xabi Alonso rules the Bundesliga with Leverkusen. A year and a half to bury 119 years of history. A year and a half to take a broken, identityless and league-worn team to a dimension it had only dreamed of in its wildest dreams. A year and a half to tell all of Germany that there is something more in the Bundesliga than Bayern.”
El Pais: “Xabi Alonso leads Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title. The German team ends eleven years of Bayern’s hegemony. Bismarckstrasse was renamed Xabi-Alonso-Allee early on Sunday morning. Xabi Alonso is the rebels’ successor. On the way to the triple.”
Great Britain:
“The Guardian”: “Especially because of Bayer’s corporate support, the Leverkusen team hardly attracts much sympathy from the German football audience. The plastic label continues to haunt her. So perhaps Alonso’s team’s greatest achievement this season was creating something so undeniably human. (…) A new reality took shape, a separation between past torments and present fantasies, between the Leverkusen that exists now and the Leverkusen that will never exist again.
“Independent”: Bayer Leverkusen wins the championship and ends Bayern Munich’s streak after eleven titles. Leverkusen was bottom in the second half of the table when Xabi Alonso took over the team in October 2022. The Spaniard led the club to a historic title in his first full season as coach (of a professional team).”
“The Sun”: “Fans rushed to celebrate before the final whistle as Bayern Leverkusen sealed their first ever Bundesliga title with a 5-0 win over Werder Bremen. Incredibly, Xabi Alonso’s men ended Bayern Munich’s 12-year grip on the crown without losing a single game in the entire Bundesliga season.”
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Switzerland:
“Tagesanzeiger”: “The Bundesliga has rarely seen a better champion. Leverkusen says goodbye to Vizekusen with a 5-0 win against Bremen and wants to gain financial muscle so that this title doesn’t remain a one-off. (…) The club has freed the league from the yoke of FC Bayern Munich, from the crippling superiority of an FCB that had recently won the title eleven times in a row.”
“Blick”: “Undefeated to the championship trophy. Wirtz hat trick and Xhaka dream goal secure Leverkusen the title. Bayern’s dominance in the Bundesliga is over. At 7:19 p.m. all dams finally break in the BayArena: Bayer Leverkusen beats Werder Bremen 5-0 and are crowned German champions. For Leverkusen it is the first Bundesliga title in the club’s history. The joy of the team, the staff and the fans? Indescribable! Thousands storm the pitch before the final whistle and cheer with their heroes.”
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France:
“L’Équipe”: “Bayer Leverkusen didn’t tremble. Unbeaten in all competitions since the start of the season (43 games), Xabi Alonso’s team converted their first match point on Sunday against Werder Bremen (5-0) and made history with their first championship title in Germany. Winning the championship after eleven years of Bavarian hegemony is one thing. It’s another to crown yourself five match days before the end. An XXL cable that commands respect.”
“Le Parisien”: “A historic achievement in which coach Xabi Alonso, who completely revolutionized this team, is anything but a stranger.”
Italy:
“Corriere dello Sport”: “A success that has been waited for 120 years. (…) Xabi Alonso’s team completed an extraordinary journey today with 25 wins and 4 draws in 29 league games: 79 points, sixteen more than Bayern Munich and Stuttgart, who won their games yesterday, which makes the triumph today in the “Makes BayArena even more beautiful.”
“Corriere della Sera”: “Bayer is celebrating. One letter changes, but that changes the world. The “Neverkusen”, so called because they have never won anything significant in their history (just two cups in 120 years), defeated Werder Bremen 5-0 and celebrated in front of their fans thanks to goals from Boniface, Xhaka and Wirtz (hat trick).”
