Are Bayer Leverkusen unstoppable?
By Ethan Barlow
Bayer Leverkusen have sent shockwaves throughout Europe this season (Image: Getty Images)
That question is on every football fan’s mind, or at least those who keep up with European football. Are Xabi Alonso’s super team going to lose a match before the season’s climax?
Bayer Leverkusen’s late heroics at home to Hoffenheim at the weekend extended their incredible unbeaten run to 39 matches, across all competitions. Alonso’s first senior management job couldn't have gone much better, as in the space of less than two seasons, the former Liverpool, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid midfielder has taken Leverkusen from relegation places to being the most dominant side in Europe.
Here is the story of how Alonso went from rookie coach to the most sought-after manager in Europe:
The takeover
Alonso inherited a team in turmoil (Image: Getty Images)
When Alonso took over “Die Werkself” (“The Company’s Eleven”) on October 5 2022, he was left with a team that sat second bottom of Germany’s top-flight with just five points from a possible 24. Swiss coach Gerardo Seoane was given his marching orders the night before the Spaniard’s appointment as Leverkusen fell to their second European defeat of the season after three UEFA Champions League group games.
Despite having a talented squad at his disposal, how was Alonso going to deal with a dressing room full of big egos? This wasn’t a coach gifted with a cushy management head start at a club he had previously played at. This was a young manager with zero senior head-coaching experience who had been thrown in at the deep end with only three years at his old club, Real Sociedad B, to boast on his management CV.
Alonso’s opening outing could’ve been classed as a “new manager bounce” when the BayArena witnessed their team beat the eventually relegated Schalke 4-0. Leverkusen’s Champions League misery continued after a 0-3 loss at home to FC Porto, leaving continental football after Christmas looking like a pipe dream.
A 5-1 thrashing in Frankfurt left no evidence of early progress under the Alonso regime. Back-to-back draws with Wolfsburg and Atletico Madrid, and a 2-0 defeat at RB Leipzig left Alonso still looking for a major scalp in his opening month as head coach.
The road to success
The Spaniard steadied the ship and turned things around (Image: Getty Images)
A draw at home to Club Brugge sneaked the German under-performers a place in the UEFA Europa League after Christmas. Leverkusen’s 5-0 win over third-placed Union Berlin, before the mid-season FIFA World Cup, was the result that gave the 1988 Europa League winners the shot in the arm which ultimately has them where they are today.
With no domestic cup distractions, they finished the season strongly, going unbeaten in 16 of their last 21 Bundesliga matches. Their first-round DFB-Pokal exit to the eventual third division champion’s Elversberg summed up their embarrassing first half of the season, but they made amends with their post-Christmas Europa League run.
Europa League knockout wins over AS Monaco, Ferencvaros and Union Saint-Gilloise showed Alonso’s team's progress across his tenure. They eventually fell in the semi-final to European coaching mastermind, Jose Mourinho, and his Roma team. Bayer’s strong domestic finish to the season secured sixth place and Europa League football, on goal difference by just two goals. Alonso’s work since his management takeover turned a terrible season into a solid year, securing European football in the league and having a strong European run.
The recruitment of champions
The addition of players like Alex Grimaldo have been key to Bayer’s rise (Image: Getty Images)
If you were expecting to read that Alonso completely turned over Leverkusen’s squad in the matter of a few months in a summer rebuild, you’d be surprised. There’s no doubt money was spent, and a few good signings were made, but no one would have expected Leverkusen to blow away a Bayern Munich side adding Harry Kane to their ranks. And that’s exactly what they’ve done.
Leverkusen’s summer outgoings were mostly players who wouldn’t have been massive absentees to the now treble chasers. Former PSG left-back Mitchel Bakker was used frequently by Alonso in his first season, but with his contract coming to an end he was moved on to Atalanta for £8.5m and opened up a vacancy in his position. His replacement, on a free transfer, is undoubtedly one of the signings of the season. After eight seasons with Benfica, Alex Grimaldo was signed by his fellow countryman to partner with former Manchester City full-back Jeremie Frimpong to form the most devastating wing-back combination in Europe. So far this season, Grimaldo has career highs in both goals (11) and assists (14). Frimpong also has career highs in both stats (11) and 10).
Alonso also offloaded some players. Paulinho, Daley Sinkgraven and Kerem Demirbay were notable departures. But without a doubt, the most noteworthy sale was now Aston Villa winger Moussa Diaby. The French international directly contributed to 94 goals in his four seasons in Germany since signing from PSG. His £47m sale would allow Alonso to recruit freely to build a team to be able to compete in the Europa League and qualify for next season’s Champions League (UCL), but the two-time UCL winner had other ideas.
Leverkusen spent their Diaby windfall wisely and mixed experience with some of Europe’s top talents. Alonso picked up two former Borussia Monchengladbach midfielders Granit Xhaka and Jonas Hofmann for £30m. This midfield pair join Robert Andrich and Florian Wirtz in the central midfield of Alonso’s now trademark 3-4-2-1 set-up. Although Leverkusen have a wide range of quality players and creative talent, none more so than German international Florian Wirtz. At just 20 years old, Wirtz is already one of the best players in the world. If you haven’t seen any of the Leverkusen artist's work, expect to be amazed at Euro 2024 where he is likely to be a nailed-on starter for Julian Nagelsmann’s side.
Alonso spent just shy of £20m on both Victor Boniface and former Southampton and Burnley winger, Nathan Tella. Tella has proved a solid option off Alonso’s bench this season, whereas Boniface started most games he was fit for before the groin injury he picked up in January. Boniface has attracted interest from some of the world’s biggest clubs as one of the most talented youngsters in Europe. Leverkusen also loaned in Josip Stanisic from title rivals Bayern Munich.
The season like no other
It’s been an unforgettable campaign in the German top-flight (Image: Getty Images)
Bayer Leverkusen fans have never seen anything like what they’re witnessing this season. The soon-to-be German champions were founded in 1904. Despite being 120 years old, Leverkusen only have one Europa League and one DFB-Pokal as the major honours in their trophy cabinet. They’ve never won the league which makes this year's feat even more spectacular.
Leverkusen are monumental favourites to win their second DFB-Pokal this season, with the other three teams making up the semi-finals being in inferior divisions, it would be a massive surprise to see anyone but them lift the trophy at the end of May. The favourites’ semi-final opponents are Bundesliga 2 side Fortuna Düsseldorf, who sit in third place in the second division. In the other semi-final are Bundesliga 2 relegation-threatened FC Kaiserslautern and Bundesliga giant-killers, FC Saarbrucken. Third-division Saarbrucken have knocked out Bayern Munich, Frankfurt and Monchengladbach. If they were to go all the way this season, it would be one the greatest shocks in football history, but you’d have to expect Leverkusen to deal with them if they meet in the final.
The runaway Bundesliga leaders haven't just been domestically insurmountable, but are yet to fall to defeat in their European endeavours. Alonso’s side is yet to lose in this season’s Europa League at the quarter-final stage and will hope to go two steps further than last season’s semi-final heartbreak. Leverkusen topped their fairly straightforward group H with maximum points, defeating BK Hacken, Molde and Qarabag FK home and away.
Winning the group and therefore skipping the play-off round, Leverkusen met one of their fellow group H advancers in the last 16 stage. After 5-1 and 0-1 group wins over the recently crowned Azerbaijan Premier League champions, Leverkusen were expected to comfortably advance, but it was anything but comfortable. Leverkusen found themselves 2-0 down at half-time in Baku and their invincibility was under major scrutiny. Wirtz’s 70th-minute strike kept the away side alive and Victor Boniface’s striker depute, Patrik Schick, saved the historic run with his 92nd-minute equaliser. Coming from two goals behind away from home, Leverkusen fans would have expected a simpler home leg. Within five minutes either side of a 62nd-minute Qarabag red card, the away team had miraculously scored twice. Leverkusen were going to have to score two in the last 20 minutes for the second time in a week. Frimpong’s 72nd-minute goal might have flashed déjà vu for the travelling support and once again, they had done it. Schick scored yet another injury-time equaliser, but he wasn't done there and found a 98th-minute winner to break the hearts of the away side.
Leverkusen will meet West Ham United in the quarter-finals and will face the winner of the all-Italian bout, AC Milan v Roma, if they take care of the Londoners. Many football fans anticipate an epic Leverkusen v Liverpool final in Dublin. If Leverkusen are to go undefeated in the DFB-Pokal and the Europa League, they would achieve something that has never been completed before: An invincible treble featuring a European trophy.
The record winners
Alonso has the chance to etch himself into football management folklore at just 42 (Image: Getty Images)
Bayern Munich’s Der Klassiker defeat at the weekend, at home to Borussia Dortmund moved Alonso’s historians 13 points clear at the top. Schick scored a third stoppage-time goal in the space of a month to secure Leverkusen’s three points at home to Hoffenheim despite trailing in the 88th minute.
Leverkusen have won 23 of their 27 Bundesliga matches this season. The soon-to-be champions four draws have come against Bayern Munich (2nd), Dortmund (4th), VfB Stuttgart (3rd) and Monchengladbach (13th). Leverkusen have been so good this season, Bayern are on track to get more points than they did last season, and they've still been blown away. Leverkusen need to pick up just three wins from their final seven matches to secure their first Meisterschale. But you would imagine Alonso and his players have their eyes on bigger targets such as Bayern Munich’s record point tally set at 91 points. Leverkusen will break the record if they can manage to take 19 points from a possible 21.
A legend as a player, Xabi Alonso has already achieved managerial legend status. Certainly, in the eyes of Bayer Leverkusen fans.