Bayer Leverkusen carried a bleeding nickname for years. Neverkusen 鈥� the team who never won titles.
Well, until Sunday.
On Sunday, Leverkusen 鈥� after 44 failed attempts 鈥� finally managed to get their hands on the plate that the German teams crave, ending Bayern Munich鈥檚 11-year monopoly. And they did it unbeaten as they are yet to lose a game in 43 matches across competitions this season, and won the league with 79 points from 29 games.
If anybody foresaw that when Xabi Alonso took charge in October 2022 鈥� with Leverkusen sitting second-bottom of the Bundesliga barrel 鈥� they probably have a time machine, or they should have a soothsaying career.
It was not just that Leverkusen were struggling when the Spaniard arrived, it was also the fact that this was his first assignment for a senior team, with his only prior professional coaching experience being with the Real Sociedad B team.
However, the former Bayern midfielder, who will continue at Leverkusen next season despite several offers from elites in Europe, took little time to change the team 鈥� both on and off the field.
The on-field quality of play from Leverkusen 鈥� in last season when they clawed their way from a relegation battle to Europa League qualification and this season when they made history 鈥� has been touted as one of the best, if not the, in Europe in the recent past.
Their unique 3-4-2-1, which gives unfathomable amounts of freedom to wingbacks Alejandro Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong has paid massive dividends with the former having 21 goals contributions in the league 鈥� the most alongside Florian Wirtz, and the latter chipping in with 15.
Alongside that, Xabi has managed to finally unlock the potential of several players, with the highlights being German playmaker Wirtz 鈥� who recovered from a long-term ACL injury not long ago 鈥� and Argentine midfielder Ezequiel Palacios, who have both been instrumental to their attacking style of play.
While their free-flowing brand of football has gained traction, what has seemingly gone unnoticed is their impressive defensive display, conceding just 19 goals in the league so far, 14 less than RB Leipzig at second.
Their transfer business has been spot on too. Besides the masterstroke of signing Grimaldo on a free transfer, Striker Victor Boniface has 19 goal contributions while Granit Xhaka, who missed out on a Premier League title last season with Arsenal, has been a rock for them in central midfield.
The celebrations then showed the team spirit that lies within their ranks, with everybody soaking everybody in beer during the celebrations, with Xabi taking several showers 鈥� including one during his press conference after the game 鈥� and Frimpong testifying that he was only doing a post-match interview to hide from his teammates trying to do to him what he had been doing to others 鈥� pouring beer all over them.
Each of those celebration videos, uploaded on Leverkusen鈥檚 X 鈥� formerly Twiitter 鈥� page, carried a hashtag - #Winnerkusen, a feeling they had not felt in their previous 44 league outings as they finished runners-up five times previously, holding the record of being the team with most second-placed finishes in top five leagues without winning the competition.
The biggest heartbreak came in the 2001-02 season, when they were set for a treble with just four games to go. Leverkusen were in the DFB Pokal and Champions League final, and two points clear of Borussia Dortmund with just two games to go.
They lost the DFB Pokal final, lost the league courtesy of a defeat on the penultimate matchday, and then succumbed to Real Madrid in the UCL final.
And that almost sealed the Neverkusen nickname.
Not anymore. Like their hashtag of Winnerkusen, Leverkusen are in the hunt for a treble 鈥� being in the final of the Pokal and fighting for the Europa League.
This time around, they have already sealed the league. Whether their unbeaten run goes on to hand them a different treble is the question now.
The answer being them achieving it, though, would hardly be a surprise.
