‘NEVERKUSEN’, No More

19 December 2024

From nearly men to record-breaking champions. Bayer Leverkusen made 2024 their own with triumph in the Bundesliga, the German Cup, and the Supercup.

We spoke to a man who is arguably THE expert on Bayern Leverkusen – Bild journalist Phillip Arens, who’s been covering the team since 2008.

Phillip, known as Pippo, gave us a sense of the history of these eternal runners-up. Yes, they won the UEFA Cup in 1988 and the German Cup in 1993, but , after that, they were disappointed again and again. Losing finalists, qualifying for Europe, but never winning the biggest prizes. Then, in 2018, Fernando Carro was appointed as CEO. At once, Pippo told us, he openly expressed his ambition to win titles and “he transformed this club totally.” The Spaniard brought in Xabi Alonso as manager in October 2022 and Bayer Leverkusen didn’t look back.

In May, Leverkusen set a new record in European football for the longest run of matches without defeat across all competitions and they were the first German team to complete their league season unbeaten.

Arens, who’d been to almost every game, was there, on the streets of the city, for the celebratory bus tour after the club claimed their first Bundesliga title. “It was the 14th of April, a really warm Sunday afternoon. 10,000 people on the streets or even more and fireworks were flying and the bus was not even able to pass. This was football carnival.”

Pippo said he still feels overcome by emotion just looking at pictures of that day. He shared with us his unforgettable memories, like Alonso singing on the balcony, as well as taking us through the journey of the season, offering insights into the mentality of the manager, describing the relationship between Alonso and the Leverkusen fans, and explaining why this is “the beginning of a new era in German football.”

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