Executives at Bayer Leverkusen, the long-standing but habitually middleweight German soccer team, have been receiving messages since at least February. Some were delivered in person, quietly congratulating them after yet another victory. Others came via WhatsApp, unsolicited and unexpected notes from peers, acquaintances, and even foes.
Soccer is fiercely tribal, and rivals do not easily offer each other encouragement or congratulations. However, as the German league season progressed, many wanted to praise Leverkusen’s impending achievement: getting closer to being crowned national champion for the first time with each victory.
This also meant that Bayern Munich was not going to win.
Leverkusen is set to secure the title this weekend, ending Bayern’s streak of championships that has lasted over a decade. All Leverkusen needs to seal the title is a single victory, which could come as soon as their game against Werder Bremen on Sunday, or if Bayern loses.
The triumph has been a long time coming, with the club being founded 120 years ago in 1904, before the city of Leverkusen technically existed. However, it has arrived more swiftly than anticipated.
Six months ago, the team’s coach, Xabi Alonso, 42, mentioned that they might only win the championship if they were still in contention in April. Now, they might claim the title so early that they cannot properly celebrate it: the season is still ongoing, and Leverkusen has two more trophies to chase.
The club plans to have a low-key postgame party for the players and their families at the BayArena stadium, with a traditional parade scheduled for May 26 after the German cup concludes.
The city’s mayor, Uwe Richrath, mentioned, “We will adorn our city in black and red wherever we can.”
Bayer Leverkusen, founded over a century ago as a sporting outlet for workers at the nearby Bayer chemical plant, has only won two major honors in its history, with the most recent being in 1993.
The club has been associated with agonizing defeat, earning the nickname “Neverkusen” in 2002 after missing out on multiple titles. Leverkusen has patented the German equivalent, Vizekusen, reflecting its history of near misses.
Alonso’s team is set to exorcise those ghosts in spectacular fashion, remaining unbeaten this season and potentially ending with more major honors than ever before.
This achievement signifies a shift in the German soccer landscape, breaking Bayern Munich’s dominance and injecting freshness into the league.
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