By Nicky Helfgott / @NickyH3lfgott on Twitter
Another fantastic late comeback against Qarabag in the UEFA Europa League extended Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten matches this season to 37, how have they done it?
When Harry Kane moved from Tottenham to Bayern Munich in the summer, he must’ve been grinning like a Cheshire cat as the opportunity to win his first career trophy was enormous. Bayern have won the league every single year consecutively since 2013. With Kane in the side, they were almost stronger than ever. Who could possibly stop them from winning the league and Kane from winning his first career honours? Well, enter Xabi Alonso and Bayer Leverkusen.
Xabi Alonso was one of the greatest midfielders of his era, dominating teams in both the Premier League with Liverpool and La Liga with Real Madrid. He grew up in a small town in the Basque Country, Spain where he became close friends with current Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta. He rose through the ranks at Real Sociedad before moving to Liverpool where he became esteemed as a truly great midfielder. After five years on Merseyside, he spent another five years in Madrid with Real before finishing his illustrious career with three years at Bayern Munich. He won everything that there is to win. The World Cup, Euros, Champions League, La Liga, Bundesliga, and countless more honours.
After retiring, Alonso took his coaching badges and started working with Real Madrid’s U14 team. He then had a brief stint with Real Sociedad II before being appointed as the Bayer Leverkusen manager in October of 2022. When he was appointed, Leverkusen were deep in the trenches. They were 17th in the league but Alonso made an immediate impact. They beat Schalke 4-0 in their first game and he led his side to an impressive 6th place finish. Despite interest from Tottenham in the summer, Alonso stayed put and began preparations for his first full season at the club.
This season, Bayer Leverkusen have been incredible. So good that they’ve arguably been the best team in Europe. They’ve not lost a single game. Not ONE! In any competition! They are sensational. Leverkusen haven’t won a major trophy in 31 years and yet Alonso has them as the clear favourites to win at least two this season.
Leverkusen play more short passes than any other team in Europe. Averaging 62.9% in the Bundesliga, they pop the ball around with such precision and speed that other teams get dizzy just trying to slow them down. The team embodies a dynamic and tactically astute style of play, in a 3-4-3 formation, characterised by intricate overloads, fluid changes in tempo, and a strategic use of a narrow shape. Their confidence in possession and ability to manipulate opposition shapes allows for incisive attacks, reminiscent of Pep Guardiola’s sides. Leverkusen’s adaptability shines through, with Xabi Alonso orchestrating a team capable of dominating possession or thriving in transition as they did in their 3-0 demolition of Bayern Munich. They’ve scored 63 league goals this season, conceding just 15 in the process. They are now ten points above Bayern and appear to be in pole position to win the title this year.
Bayer Leverkusen have made a team of good players into a great team, rather than importing superstars and hoping for the best. Florian Wirtz, just 20 years old, is their key playmaker who creates chances through the middle. He is given freedom to roam and to drive with the ball and that is paying its dividends. The German has six goals and ten assists in the league this year. Alejandro Grimaldo is a left-back who essentially operates as a left-winger. He has scored nine and assisted ten. He’s sensational. He bombs up and down the left flank with such vigour that he is almost impossible to stop. On the opposite flank, Jeremie Frimpong plays the same role with almost the same effectiveness. The pair are awesome. Granit Xhaka, a summer signing from Arsenal, has brought level-headedness and experience to a relatively young team. Their team against Wolfsburg had an average age of 26.6 years old. He knows all too well about losing a league-leading position, so his know-how will be key. Striker Victor Boniface has exploded onto the scene, having signed from Union SG in the summer. Their team is well-gelled and cohesive and the goals are shared around the pitch.
With Jurgen Klopp leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, Alonso has been incessantly linked with a move to the club that he has mentioned ‘is still a big part of (his) life and always will be’. The move would make sense. Not because Alonso’s current Leverkusen side and Liverpool are so tactically aligned, but because Alonso understands the culture of the club, the fans and the expectations. He is clearly a fantastic coach and if Liverpool can transition from Klopp to Alonso, it would represent an excellent adaptation for the Reds.
But first, there is the possibility that Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool face each other in the Europa League, possibly in both Klopp’s last game for Liverpool and Alonso’s last game for Leverkusen. The two sides are the two best in the Europa League, so they’ll most likely have to face each other at some point. Imagine, the showdown would be incredible. Liverpool’s past and present lining up against Liverpool’s conceptual future. Incredible. Alonso will have to secure the Bundesliga and the DFK Pokal trophy before he can start thinking about this matchup and a mighty impressive treble. Having won the Carabao Cup, Klopp will look to win the FA Cup and the Premier League so that this potential game would secure a quadruple.
All eyes are on the Europa League…!
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