Page 44 - Soccer360 Issue 106

BUNDESLIGA SEASON REVIEW
ABOVE & RIGHT: Stuttgart caused many surprises by finishing in 2nd place, helped by their prolific strike partnership
BELOW:
Wing-back Alex Grimaldo made a major contribution to Leverkusen’s title triumph
Additional key contributors included fellow new signing Victor Boniface, who cost upwards of €20 million to sign from Belgian outfit Union Saint-Gilloise; while Patrik Schick continued to struggle with injury during the first half of the campaign, the Nigerian international more than stepped up to shoulder much of the goal-scoring responsibilities.
Moreover, the team truly played as just that - a team. As evidenced by their goal output, any outfield player, more or less, proved
to be capable of scoring a goal or two, whether they be defensive stalwarts like Tah or Frimpong, wing-backs like Josip Stanisic - ironically on loan from Bayern - and Grimaldo, midfield maestros and warriors like Fritz or Xhaka, or pure centre forwards like Boniface.
In short, Alonso had constructed a well- oiled, cohesive machine that proved to
be capable of not just competing with Bayern Munich in 2023-24, but completely outstripping them. The question is as to whether they will be able to do it all over again next season. That will depend on several factors - including if they are able to make smart acquisitions to replace any key players that could end up being snatched up by other teams. If they can do this, then the possibility is high that indeed, die Werkself and their success just may be the start of
a revolution in the Bundesliga in which the title race will no longer be decided by just
one team. All in all, although Leverkusen generated much of the plaudits - and deservedly so - due to their historic title triumph, another side that really impressed this season was Stuttgart. A season ago, they were battling the drop. Flash-forward just 12 months later, and the club’s ongoing faith in Sebastian Hoeneß has been rewarded and then some. Die Schwaben, thanks to a top-four finish, will be competing in the Champions League next season.
A big part of this turnaround has been
the goalscoring form of Serhou Guirassy, who ultimately had to settle for second
in the race for the league’s Golden Boot after running into issues with injuries, but nonetheless contributed to over one-third of his team’s output. In fact, between him and on-loan striker Deniz Undav, who also hit double figures in front of goal, the duo contributed to over half of all of Stuttgart’s goals in the Bundesliga this season. Exciting times ahead for Stuttgart as they navigate new territory during the 2024-25 season, but there will be concern as to how they will be able to compete on multiple fronts. One only has to look at the case of Union Berlin, who had an amazing run last term to qualify for the Champions League only to be facing a battle for survival just
a year later - and as such, Stuttgart and their supporters will naturally be hoping to avoid facing the same unpleasant outcome when the new campaign rolls around in
just a few months’ time.Also qualifying for the Champions League for 2024-25 are perennial top four challengers RB Leipzig, and also Borussia Dortmund. Eden Terzic’s side came so close to lifting the Bundesliga title in 2023 and followed that up with an indifferent showing domestically, only to make up for it with an unexpected but deserved run to the Champions League final. Further down the table, Heidenheim impressed in their first ever top-flight season, Borussia Monchengladbach struggled to a disappointing bottom half finish, while relegation came for newly promoted Darmstadt and a Koln side whose five-year stay in the Bundesliga came to
an end. But the big story in European football are Bayer Leverkusen, and their achievements in 2023-24 will go down in history.
42 SOCCER360 SUMMER 2024