The secrets of Bayer Leverkusen: the phenomenon that is overwhelming Germany and is preparing to write the great history of the Bundesliga

A few weeks after the celebration of the 120th anniversary of its foundation, Bayer Leverkusenwith the world champion Exequiel Palacios among its ranks, can celebrate this weekend its first title in the history of Bundesligawhich would end ‘s 11-season reign Bayern Monaco and this could also mean the first of the three crowns to which the European record-breaking team aspires this season.

With six dates remaining until the end of the competition, home win against Werder Bremen On Sunday at 12.30 pm (ESPN 3 will be broadcast) the team led by the Basque will be crowned Xabi Alonso, which amounts to 76 units. Even a draw will be enough if Bayern Monaco (60) does not beat Colony AND Stuttgart (60) does not exceed Eintracht Frankfurt. You can even celebrate a day before taking the field if your opponents lose on Saturday.

The win he got against last weekend Berlin Unionwith a solitary goal from a penalty by Florian Wirtzand Bayern’s 3-2 defeat against Heidenheim They left the North Rhine-Westphalian team one step away from the title and closer to the record in Bundesliga. That victory was their 24th in a season in which they also had four draws and had yet to lose. They are just six appearances away from being the first team to complete a season of the German competition unbeaten.

Currently, The 28 appearances without setbacks allowed him to equal the mark that Bayern Munich set in the 2013/14 season., who lost their unbeaten record in the 29th round of that season to Augsburg. Furthermore, they have nine consecutive victories in the domestic tournament and seven consecutive victories as guests, two consecutive winning streaks which they had never achieved in the Bundesliga. And the 76 points already obtained represent his best harvest in the German first division, in which he has competed continuously since 1979.

In his 44 previous Bundesliga appearances, Bayer Leverkusen have been runners-up five times. Of them, two were particularly painful. In the 1999/2000 season the team led by Christoph Daum and which he had as a figure Michael Ballack He arrived at the last round as the leader and with a three-point lead, but lost 2-0 Unterhaching and lost the title, on goal difference, to Bayern Monacowho beat Werder Bremen 3 to 1 on the last day.

He was also very close to the celebration two years later, with Diego Placente in the team: with three dates to go he was first in the standings and five points ahead of Borussia Dortmund. But they lost two consecutive games (against Werder Bremen and Nuremberg) and Dortmund did not fail and took the title away from them. In that season they also lost the final of Champions League in view of real Madrid and that of German Cup with Schalke.

The architect of the team that is about to break the historic drought is Xabi Alonso, one of the most sought-after coaches in the world these days. The Basque, who until then had only coached the under-14s of Real Madrid and the reserve team of Real Sociedad, took over the management of the Rossoneri team from 5 October 2022, replacing the Swiss. Gerardo Seoane. At the time, Bayer were second last in the Bundesliga and had been eliminated from the German Cup Elversberg of the third division. In less than eight months, the former Spanish national team player took him from 19th to sixth place, thus qualifying for the Europa League.

This season the team’s performances and results have been superlative. This made some European giants such as Real Madrid and Liverpool take an interest in Alonso (they had attempted him in March to replace Jürgen Klopp starting in July). But the DT has already warned that he will stay. “It doesn’t seem like the right time to leave. After a year we are building a team, we are building a great spirit here. I’ve put in the work and I’m having a lot of fun.”he justified himself.

The success in the Bundesliga also carried over to the Europa League: After winning their group with an ideal score and anxiously eliminating Azerbaijan’s Qarabağ in the round of 16, Bayer defeated West Ham United 2-0 on Thursday at the Bay Arena in the first leg of a key quarter-final. The objectives of Jonas Hoffmann AND Vittorio Bonifacio in the last seven minutes of the game it will allow him to travel to London in relative tranquility to play the rematch next Thursday at the Olympic Stadium in the English capital.

“It’s a good result, but (the series) is not over. Next week we will focus on the return match, from now on we will be focused exclusively on the match against Bremen. The anticipation couldn’t be higher. We have to give everything. One game, three points. This is the clear objective”, explained Alonso after his team’s eighth victory in nine appearances in the continental competition. Four parties separate the Red and black of their second international title: they won the UEFA Cup only in 1988.

Da yapa, the club which belongs to the pharmaceutical giant of the same name will also play in the German Cup final: after eliminating Teutonia Ottensen, Sandhausen, Paderborn, Stuttgart AND Fortuna Dusseldorfwill be measured with Kaiserslautern, who are second to last in the second division, on May 25 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. That duel will offer him the chance to win his second trophy in this tournament (he was champion in 1993).

The combination of positive results in the three tournaments in which it participates has allowed Bayer to create a unique brand this season in Europe: sum 42 games without defeat (37 wins and 5 draws). The triumph against West Ham United allowed him to surpass the record of The new saints of Wales, who had accumulated 41 unbeaten matches and had seen the streak interrupted on 24 March, when they lost 2 to 1 with Airdrieoniansof the Scottish Second Division, in the final of Scottish Challenge Cupa competition in which two Welsh teams can participate.

Such numbers make the possibility of Bayer Leverkusen completing this season without a title a pipe dream.. The first opportunity will be this weekend in the Bundesliga. However, no one wants to celebrate early. “We know what can happen on Sunday. We have to play our game and not motivate ourselves too much”, proposed the Swiss midfielder. Xhaka Graniteone of the figures of the team and one of the most experienced men in the squad.

A life with Bayer

The story of Bayer Leverkusen has been inextricably linked since its early days to one of the main companies in the pharmaceutical industry, created in 1863 by Federico Bayer AND Johann Friedrich Westkottwhich has been based in Leverkusen since 1912 and had sales of $53.3 billion last year.

The club was founded on July 1, 1904 as an institution dedicated to the practice of gymnastics. To build his first plants he had the exclusive financial support of Bayerchemical company that initially concentrated its production on synthetic dyes for fabrics, which then broadened its horizons to the pharmaceutical industry and which in 1899 launched its flagship drug on the market: aspirin.

In fact the first name of the sports institution was Turn-und Spielverein der Farbenfabriken vorm. Friedrich Bayer & Co. in Leverkusen (Gymnastics and Sports Club of the Friedrich Bayer & Company Dye Factory in Leverkusen). The football section was formed in 1907, but in 1923 it split and founded Football Club 04 Leverkusen, also under the wing of the club. In 1935 he added the word “Bayer” to his name and the company logo to his coat of arms.

The historical link with the pharmaceutical giant has allowed Bayer Leverkusen to avoid compliance with the 50+1 rule which applies in the Bundesliga. The rule, approved by the German Football Association in October 1998, allowed the entry of private capital into the clubs (until then they were non-profit organizations), but stipulated that members had to retain the majority of voting shares of the institution.

However, the rule provided for an exception: Investors who could demonstrate that they had supported a club “substantially and continuously” for at least 20 years could take majority ownership of a club. This allowed Bayer Leverkusen to remain in the hands of the company that had led its foundation.

It is currently one of two clubs in the German top division to benefit from the exception clause of the 50+1 rule: the other is Wolfsburg, owned by the car manufacturer Volkswagen. Hoffenheim also joined this regime in July 2015, but in November last year Dietmar Hopp, owner of the software company SAP, transferred the majority of voting shares back to the shareholders.

The curious thing is that the club is experiencing one of the best moments in its history, contrary to what is happening with Bayer, which is going through a huge crisis that has forced it to implement a savings and cuts plan for around 3 billion euro the global level.