For Liverpool fans of a certain era, the name Bayer Leverkusen will always hum and miss what could have been.It’s almost 22 years since Gerard Houllier’s UEFA Cup winning side lost 4-2 to Germany to progress 5-3 in the last 16 of the European Cup. The power and class of Michael Ballack, Houllier’s erroneous claim that his side had “10 great games” and an impressive exit in the Champions League quarter-finals are part of Leverkusen’s iconography in the eyes of Anfield fans.
Nowadays this is changing. Now Manchester United fans around the world are watching to see how Xabi Alonso will lead the side he led from second to first in the Bundesliga in less than 18 months. It’s even more impressive that his strikers are five points clear of perennial champions Bayern Munich. “You’re going to hear a lot” – revealed Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s invisible roleAnd interest in Alonso’s fate from Liverpool’s perspective has increased tenfold in recent weeks, with Jurgen Klopp announcing his surprise decision to leave Anfield after nine years.
The 2005 Champions League winner picked the perfect evening to showcase his coaching skills to the wider European football forum last week as Leverkusen moved into the title race with a 3-0 win over Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. It wasn’t the day Alonso announced himself to the world as a manager, but the night he picked up a megaphone and turned into Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street. , erythema. “I’m not going!” If so, this is the best place for you. Jamie Carragher said: “If there had been any other manager playing for Leverkusen this season, I’m sure he would have been involved in Liverpool’s performance.” “Listen, you can see straight away at Liverpool that he’s not just a great player, he’s a real football fan.
“He was always interested in tactics and had a good idea of football even at a young age and I think that helped him a lot.”What brought back memories of 2011 was a stunning and uncompromising performance against the undisputed kings of the Bundesliga. On that occasion, Bayern lost just as convincingly to Borussia Dortmund.In February 2011, after losing 3-1 to Dortmund under the infamous Jurgen Klopp, they came together at the Allianz to claim their next German title, with BVB recording their first win in 19 years against Bayern Munich. . Klopp joked after the match that “most of my sons were still breastfeeding”, and local media reported that Bayern looked like “a piece of driftwood in a sea of yellow and black”. Dortmund chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke made the most unusual remark of the day, despite insisting he was “not interested in winning today” because he was “so happy with our performance”. Now, 13 years later, that short and meaningless resume could use some dusting to explain exactly how Alonso’s side beat the quality visitors.
As a result, Die Verskelp remain unbeaten in 21 league games this season, recording 4 draws. Their 22 wins from 35 matches in 2023 was a new club record and this form stood until mid-February. There’s a reason their funny nickname changed from Neverkusen to Neverlosen, and there’s definitely something brewing in the BayArena.
It is not a coincidence.”If you look at the summer signings and how they worked for Alonso, it’s a good example [of how he worked with his sporting director],” said Seb Stafford-Blore, European football writer for The Athletic . “Xhaka, Hoffman and Grimaldo came because the club wanted a different chemistry in the dressing room. All these players agreed with Alonso and Simon Rolfes (sporting director) how they would be used and their importance.” It was this season – it shows how equal they are.”
