Bayer Leverkusen are the new German champions. The international press especially celebrates coach Xabi Alonso. We have summarized the reactions.
Leverkusen – The Leverkusen miracle is complete: Bayer 04 secured the first championship title in the club's history with an impressive 5-0 win over Werder Bremen. It was the start of a long night of partying in Leverkusen, the fans had already stormed the BayArena pitch during the game - and Robert Andrich sent clear greetings to Munich.
Bayer Leverkusen storms to the first championship in the club's history
Nationally and internationally there are congratulations for the Werkself, and FC Bayern also immediately congratulated in a statement. The scenario that Munich didn't become German champions last happened in 2012. Back then, the champions were Borussia Dortmund.
Leverkusen still has two more chances for trophies: in the Europa League they are close to reaching the semi-finals after a 2-0 win in the quarter-final first leg against West Ham United. In the DFB Cup they face 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the final and are the big favorites there. Coach Xabi Alonso continues to work on his legendary status. He already has this with the international press. We summarize the reactions from Europe.
International press reviews of Leverkusen's masterpiece: Spain
Marca:
“Xabi I. of Germany: Bayer Leverkusen conquers the first Bundesliga championship in its history. What neither Borussia Dortmund nor RB Leipzig managed at the time, Bayer Leverkusen managed to do: end the tyranny of Bayern.”
Mundo deportivo:
“Bayer Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso is already a legend.”
As:
“Bayer Leverkusen are champions. Xabi is master. Football is master. After eleven years of Bayern’s tyranny, the king has changed for the first time in the Bundesliga.”
Sport:
“Xabi Alonso rules the Bundesliga with Leverkusen. A year and a half to bury 119 years of history. A year and a half to take a broken, identityless and league-worn team to a dimension it had only dreamed of in its wildest dreams. A year and a half to tell all of Germany that there is something more in the Bundesliga than Bayern.”
International press reviews of Leverkusen's masterpiece: England
The Guardian:
“Especially because of Bayer's corporate support, the Leverkusen team hardly attracts much sympathy from the German football audience. The plastic label continues to haunt her. So perhaps Alonso's team's greatest achievement this season was creating something so undeniably human. (...) A new reality took shape, a separation between past torments and present fantasies, between the Leverkusen that exists now and the Leverkusen that will never exist again.
Independent:
“Bayer Leverkusen wins the championship and ends Bayern Munich’s streak after eleven titles. Leverkusen was bottom in the second half of the table when Xabi Alonso took over the team in October 2022. The Spaniard led the club to a historic title in his first full season as coach (of a professional team).”
The Sun:
“Fans rushed to celebrate before the final whistle as Bayer Leverkusen sealed their first ever Bundesliga title with a 5-0 win over Werder Bremen. Incredibly, Xabi Alonso’s men ended Bayern Munich’s 12-year grip on the crown without losing a single game in the entire Bundesliga season.”
International press reviews of Leverkusen's masterpiece: Switzerland
Tagesanzeiger:
“The Bundesliga has rarely seen a better champion. Leverkusen says goodbye to Vizekusen with a 5-0 win against Bremen and wants to gain financial muscle so that this title doesn't remain a one-off. (...) The club has freed the league from the yoke of FC Bayern Munich, from the crippling superiority of an FCB that had recently won the title eleven times in a row.”
Blick:
“Undefeated to the championship trophy. Wirtz hat trick and Xhaka dream goal secure Leverkusen the title. Bayern's dominance in the Bundesliga is over. At 7:19 p.m. all dams finally break in the BayArena: Bayer Leverkusen beats Werder Bremen 5-0 and are crowned German champions. For Leverkusen it is the first Bundesliga title in the club's history. The joy of the team, the staff and the fans? Indescribable! Thousands storm the pitch before the final whistle and cheer with their heroes.”
International press reviews of Leverkusen's masterpiece: France
L'Équipe:
“Bayer Leverkusen didn't tremble. Unbeaten in all competitions since the start of the season (43 games), Xabi Alonso's team converted their first match point on Sunday against Werder Bremen (5-0) and made history with their first championship title in Germany. Winning the championship after eleven years of Bavarian hegemony is one thing. It's another to crown yourself five match days before the end. An XXL cable that commands respect.”
Le Parisien:
“A historic achievement to which coach Xabi Alonso, who completely revolutionized this team, is anything but a stranger.”
International press reviews of Leverkusen's masterpiece: Italy
Corriere dello Sport:
“A success that has been waited for 120 years. (...) Xabi Alonso's team completed an extraordinary journey today with 25 wins and 4 draws in 29 league games: 79 points, sixteen more than Bayern Munich and Stuttgart, who won their games yesterday, which makes the triumph today in the “Makes BayArena even more beautiful.”
Corriere della Sera:
“Bayer is celebrating. One letter changes, but that changes the world. The “Neverkusen”, so called because they have never won anything significant in their history (just two cups in 120 years), defeated Werder Bremen 5-0 and celebrated in front of their fans thanks to goals from Boniface, Xhaka and Wirtz (hat trick).”
(akl/dpa)