DECRYPTION – Bayer Leverkusen, destined for its first Bundesliga title, is still undefeated before its German Cup semi-final on Wednesday. A rare season in European football.
For lovers of numbers and records, it is a dive into the history books to which Bayer Leverkusen has been inviting for several months. It is also letting oneself be carried away by a fable whose epilogue remains to be written, whose beginnings could only be sketched with one’s head resting on the pillow, one’s mind wandering towards the world of dreams. It’s the impossible and the unthinkable: never, in the 61 years of Bundesliga history, has a club completed a season undefeated. Beyond that, “no one would have bet a kopeck on Leverkusen” to be champion, recognizes Patrick Guillou, consultant and specialist in German football for beIN Sportsbroadcaster of the Bundesliga in France.
It is a dusty trophy cabinet that Leverkusen is preparing to reopen, whose prize list consists of a German Cup (1993) and a UEFA Cup (1988). Barring a cataclysm, with 13 points ahead of Bayern Munich and seven days left, they will win their first league title. He hosts Düsseldorf in the German Cup semi-final this Wednesday (8:45 p.m.) then will challenge West Ham in the Europa League quarters (April 11 and 18). So far, he has a record of 35 matches for 4 draws and zero defeats. In Europe, this season, there is Bayer and the others.
“Smart mix” between obsessive control and rock n roll football
How to explain such a hurricane on the banks of the Rhine, among a team which feared relegation a year and a half ago? In October 2022, Xabi Alonso was appointed coach. Charismatic and cerebral, the former defensive midfielder (42 years old) is already the coach we imagined he would be, in the tradition of his compatriot Pep Guardiola. The Spaniard took the time to train: he trained young people at Real Madrid, then the reserve team of Real Sociedad for three years, until 2022.
He knows Germany: he finished his brilliant career at Bayern Munich (2014-2017) under the orders of… Guardiola. In Leverkusen, in terms of play, he built a “smart mix” between the obsessive control of Guardiola’s Manchester City and the rock n roll football of Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool, believes Patrick Guillou. “What is interesting is of course the phases of really polished possessions, with one or two touches of the ball, with an unspeakable collective mastery. But it is also the ability, when you lose the ball, to attack immediately and take advantage of imbalances.develops the former player and consultant.
“Trust”the key ingredient of Xabi Alonso
Leverkusen 2023-2024 has changed drastically from the previous year. He went from 52 to 63% ball possession on average per game in the Bundesliga. An asset for conceding few goals (19 in 27 league matches) and for scoring plenty. With 2.84 goals/match in all competitions, the North Rhine-Westphalia club has the best attack in the 5 major European championships. Beyond the technical-tactical aspect, the biggest change from one season to another is “trust”points out Patrick Guillou.
The best example? Goalkeeper and captain Lukas Hradecky, 34, at the club since 2018. “Last season he was zero from zero. Today, he is one of the best goalkeepers in the Bundesliga.underlines Patrick Guillou, struck by his “calm” on and off the field, while “Last year, he was epidermal, he held quite virulent interviews after the matches”. He can thank Alonso, a trusted broadcaster in the locker room and already a management ace, like another of his former coaches, Carlo Ancelotti.
Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka and Finnish goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky are valuable in Bayer Leverkusen’s crazy season. INA FASSBENDER / AFP
Patrick Guillou also observed a “individual progress of each player”from defender Edmond Tapsoba “to get the ball out” to the right piston Jeremie Frimpong who “feels the blows better”, through German No.10 Florian Wirtz, promised a senior role with the Mannschaft. Not to mention two star recruits: professional left-back Alex Grimaldo, 11 goals (!) and 14 assists in 38 matches, and defensive midfielder Granit Xhaka. The latter experienced ups and downs at Arsenal, who sold him for €15 million last summer. A price considered far too high by a majority of observers, today forced to eat their hats.
Several victories in added time
“He is a centerpiece of Leverkusen, he constantly makes the game more fluid”applauds Patrick Guillou, for whom Xhaka is “one of the most similar players” to who Alonso was in his time. Finally, there is the icing on the cake: striker Victor Boniface, 23, bought for €20 million from Union Saint-Gilloise. A risky bet, as the Nigerian overcame two ruptured cruciate knee ligaments between 2019 and 2021. He scored 16 goals in his first 23 matches for Leverkusen, until a groin injury at the end of December.
Then there is also, to choose from, an unwavering will or a lucky star. Leverkusen piled up victories down to the wire, in Leipzig in January (2-3), in the cup against Stuttgart (3-2), in the round of 16 second leg of the Europa League against Qarabag (1-2 in the 90th minute, 3- 2 final score) or last Saturday against Hoffenheim (2-1). “They are now faced with fairly low opposing blocks, which explains why they no longer have the same spaces to attack”deciphers Patrick Guillou.
SEE ALSO – The two goals of Leverkusen signed Andrich and Schik to overthrow Hoffenheim last March 30 (2-1)
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Not enough to bring them down for the moment, far from their bases or at the BayArena (30,000 seats). Leverkusen is the clear favorite in its semi-final against Düsseldorf, 3rd in German D2, and will be in the final against Kaiserslautern, which is fighting to stay in D2. The real challenge lies in the Europa League for a historic treble. And erase for good the cursed year 2002, where the club failed on all three counts (defeats in the cup and Champions League finals and 2nd in the Bundesliga).
There is no shortage of optimism at Bayer. Last week, Xabi Alonso put an end to rumors sending him to Munich or Liverpool. He will have at least another season at the club. “At the moment I think this is the right place for me to continue to develop as a coach. I’m still a young coach.”, did he declare. Young and modest.
