Why Leverkusen winning the Bundesliga is good for football

Bayern Leverkusen has just ended their Neverkusen curse in the Bundesliga in fantastic fashion after Xabi Alonso’s side won the title with five games to spare.

Bayern Munich had dominated the Germany top flight in the last decade and most football fans have known them as the only top German club.

Since Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund won the league twice in 2011 and 2012, no other team has stopped Bayern from winning the title.

Last season, BVB came very close and just had to win their final game of the season at home, but they lost and Bayern were champions again.

That was the closest a team had come to winning the title apart from the Bavarians in a long time.

While BVB and Bayern fought for the league crown, Bayer named Alonso as their manager after they struggled closer to the relegation spots.

The Spaniard was a solid midfielder with a likeable personality and had played under some of the world’s best managers, including Rafa Benitez, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola.

Although he had extensive experience as a player, he had not managed a senior team when he was given the job, which was a huge risk.

However, it has turned out to be a risk worth taking and he started well by helping the team finish sixth in the standings last term despite having been tipped for relegation before he joined them.

That was a clear sign that Alonso would do a good job at the club, but no one could predict that they would go on to amaze Bayer Leverkusen tickets holders and the world.

After winning the Bundesliga with five games left, they remain unbeaten in all competitions.

This means Die Werkself can finish this term by winning the German Cup, Bundesliga and Europa League without tasting defeat.

It is a remarkable year for German football, and neutrals have enjoyed it perhaps more than Leverkusen fans. 

Bayern-type dominations are boring

Bayern Munich held the longest winning streak in domestic competition in Europe’s top five leagues before this season.

Apart from last season, the Bavarians have deserved to be the champions of Germany in every campaign, which made the Bundesliga boring and predictable.

Juventus had held the same type of dominance in Serie and won nine consecutive titles until 2020.

In the 2020/2021 season, they brought an inexperienced Andrea Pirlo on board as their manager and had expected the type of success that Alonso just achieved in Germany.

It backfired, and Juve failed to win the league for the first time in ten years as Inter Milan became Italy's champions.

The Old Lady has since not won the league, making Serie A arguably the most competitive division in Europe.

PSG also holds a similarly dominant advantage in Ligue 1 and has won the last five league titles, which will be six in the summer.

These wins have coincided with when Kylian Mbappe became their most important player and things could change after he leaves the club at the end of this season.

Fans of these top clubs want their team to always win the league, but these victories are bad for football and makes a competition predictable.

This is the reason we are mostly delighted that Leverkusen has ended one of the biggest monopoly of success in European football.

We love an underdog story

In 2015/2016, Leicester City stunned the world of football by winning the Premier League in a season in which most of the top clubs in England struggled with their form.

The Foxes came from nowhere to record a victory that was a surprise to most of us and it is one of the best seasons in football in the last decade.

We can say that because it showed a team could win the toughest league in the world without being one of its established forces.

This season, in Spain, Girona captured our attention as well, as they topped the league standings in La Liga for weeks.

They played some outstanding football that saw them become king of comebacks because of the number of times they snatched victory from the death.

Girona’s form was a delight to most of us as we enjoyed seeing the likes of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid struggle to catch them in the standings.

Girona will not win La Liga this term, but the happiness they gave us shows why we love an underdog story.

Most fans who have follow Leverkusen this term also enjoyed the performance of Girona and Brest, who are some of the overperforming teams in Europe this term.

Bayer has delivered the latest underdog story to neutrals and we hope another team will follow their lead and end the dominance of a European giant next term.

Xabi Alonso deserves it

Alonso showed he is a man of character when he announced recently that he would not leave Leverkusen at the end of this season.

It was a bold decision for a manager who is being linked with the Liverpool and Bayern Munich jobs, roles that could have changed his life.

The former midfielder was a talented, yet humble player and has taken that into management where he is proving to be focused on the job at hand.

Alonso was humble enough to start his managerial career at the B team of Real Sociedad despite getting offers for a top management job.

When he wanted to became a senior manager, he chose to move to a struggling Leverkusen side to prove himself.

Within a year, he has developed the team into one that plays fearless football on a small budget and with players that most of us did not know much about.

Apart from being a pleasing personality, Alonso has worked hard behind the scenes to assemble an exciting team that has played the best football in Germany and arguably in Europe this term.

The door is now open for Dortmund to win another Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund has struggled for several seasons to topple Bayern Munich and it broke their heart to lose the league title on the final day of last season.

However, Leverkusen’s success this season will hand them a boost to try and end their drought from next term.

When Juventus stopped dominating Serie A, the competition had three different winners in different campaigns and that could happen in Germany as well.

Stuttgart has been impressive in this campaign and could finish the season in the second spot, which will prepare them to try and win the title next term.

RB Leipzig is another side that has been close to becoming the champions of Germany and Leverkusen’s victory could hand them the confidence needed to win the title as well.