Page 17 - Soccer360 Issue 105

IMPORTANT FIXTURES
MARCH
17- Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt
30- Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund (Der Klassiker)
30- Augsburg v Koln (Relagation Battle)
APRIL
6- Borussia Dortmund v VfB Stuttgart
6- SC Frieburg v RB Leipzig
13- VfB Stuttgart v Eintracht Frankfurt
13- Borussia Mönchengladbach v Borussia Dortmund (Borussen Derby)
20- Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen
27- Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt
27- Bayer Leverkusen v VfB Stuttgart
27- RB Leipzig v Borussia Dortmund
MAY
4- VfB Stuttgart v Bayern Munich
4- Eintracht Frankfurt v Bayer Leverkusen
18- Eintracht Frankfurt v RB Leipzig
WE’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE
Dan Roberts looks into how Bayer Leverkusen fans have every right to be cautious about getting carried away with the club’s success this season.
ABOVE:
Bayer Leverkusen doing what they’ve been doing alot of lately- celebrating
LEFT:
Xabi Alonso has
been credited with changing the way Leverkusen play and turning them into real challengers. Alonso is also shown playing for Bayern
BELOW:
Victor Boniface
The story of the Bundesliga has been a familiar one in recent seasons. Bayern Munich will look to be in trouble and fans everywhere will wonder whether this will be the year that Dortmund, RB Leipzig, or one of the other big teams
in Germany will finally break the run of Bavarian success. Every year the tale ends the same way - with the club from Munich celebrating another title. This year Bayer Leverkusen has been the one to take up the mantle. But we have been here before.
Owned by a pharmaceutical company, Leverkusen have never been a popular club in Germany. But that has allowed them to sign some very good players
- players that went so close to winning silverware during the years from 1997 to 2002, but never quite made it.
In that period, Leverkusen finished as runners-up on four occasions, often being in a seemingly unbeatable position with just games to go. In 2002 they even managed to lose out on the Bundesliga, the German Cup, and the Champions League in the space of just 11 days. That kind of heartbreak and anguish allowed the media and opposing fans to dub the club ‘Neverkusen’. It is no wonder that the prospect of a first-ever Bundesliga title this year is starting to make Leverkusen fans very anxious.
Bayer Leverkusen beat the record by going 33 competitive games without a loss, Cancelling out Bayern Munich’s record under Hansi Flick from the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons.
There have been a total of Nine hat-tricks scored over the first 25 games of the seasons, which is already five more than the whole of the 2022/23 season. Kevin Behrens became the first player to score a hat-trick of headers on Matchday 1.
Alonso came in from Real Sociedad in October 2022 with the aim of keeping the generally unloved Leverkusen in the top tier. He not only achieved that but also managed to get them to qualify for the Europa League - and the success has continued this season. Die Werkself are the real deal, and are truly looking like a side capable of dethroning Thomas Tuchel’s perennial champions. Seasoned Bundesliga watchers would tell you that you should never count Bayern
out, as they always have a way of coming through at the end. But could this be the year that that incredible title-winning run is finally ended?
FC Bayern Munich set a new Bundesliga streak by scoring in 65 consecutive home matches, surpassing their previous record set between 1970-1974, only to see the streak end after failing to score against Werder Bremen the following game.
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