“Vizekusen” is history, the trauma of 2002, when the Werkself secured second place in the German Bundesliga, the DFB Cup and the Champions League, shaken off. At exactly 7:19 p.m. all the dams broke, it was a done deal, which had been apparent for weeks anyway: Bayer 04 Leverkusen are champions for the first time and heir to the throne of FC Bayern, who had previously lifted the trophy eleven times in a row.
This time, not even a lackluster 2-0 home win over Cologne helped Munich. Borussia from Dortmund, who had expected great chances, were miles away from the team of successful coach Xabi Alonso, despite the recent 2-1 success in Mönchengladbach, which ÖFB team player Marcel Sabitzer scored with a “double pack”.
Photo gallery: Leverkusen celebrated their championship title so exuberantly
(Photo: INA FASSBENDER (AFP)) Bild 1/18
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Leverkusen showed impressive consistency from start to finish and didn’t let anything go wrong yesterday. The masterpiece became a gala, which Florian Wirtz left his mark with a flawless hat trick (68th, 83rd, 90th). Bayer outclassed Bremen 5-0 (1-0), only an abandonment of the game might have stopped the glorious ensemble, but it might not have stopped them.
30,210 enthusiastic fans in the BayArena might hardly stay in their seats, following the 4-0 (83rd minute) crowds of people positioned themselves behind the goal line and the first ones ran onto the pitch. But everything went well – until the final whistle. Then the green lawn turned into a sea of flags of red, black and white.
“It’s indescribable. It still takes me a while to get my head around what we’ve achieved,” said Wirtz, who is playing an almost perfect season with his team. Not a single one of the 43 competitive games so far has been lost, with 38 wins and five draws, Bayer is still enjoying three great times. In any case, no one thinks the “triple” is out of the question. Why?
“It’s special”
Leverkusen is the heavy favorite in the DFB Cup final once morest the relegation-threatened second division team 1. FC Kaiserslautern, and in the Europa League the goal for the semi-finals is wide open following the 2-0 home win over West Ham. “We are very stable in our minds, the team did it wonderfully. It’s special for the club’s history,” emphasizes Alonso, who started 557 days ago and is now reaping the fruits of his excellent work: “It’s perhaps quite healthy for the Bundesliga “If Bayern don’t always win, now is a moment to celebrate,” said the coach.
Goalkeeper Patrick Pentz, who is part of the extended ÖFB national team squad, is also happy with Alonso. He is under contract with Bayer Leverkusen and was loaned to Bröndby IF in Copenhagen on August 18th – one day before the start of the league.
Former Austrian Legionnaires who have worn the new champion’s jersey in the past will also applaud: Julian Baumgartlinger, Aleksandar Dragovic, Emanuel Pogatetz, Ramazan Özcan.
Author
Alexander Zambarloukos
Sports editor
Alexander Zambarloukos
