Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, Bayer Leverkusen and Xabi Alonso have been a match made in heaven as they close in on Bundesliga history, writes KATHRYN BATTE

Mastermind, architect, legend.

Those are just a few of the words Bayer Leverkusen fans used to describe Xabi Alonso. Under his management, the club has gone from being the ‘nearly men’ of football to champions in waiting.

Scarves with ‘Deutscher Meister 2024’ (German Champions 2024) and ‘Danke Xabi’ are already being sold outside the BayArena while a huge queue of fans lined up to buy unofficial ‘champions’ t-shirts on Friday.

They have waited a long time for this moment. The club is not called ‘Neverkusen’ for no reason. It became their nickname after they missed out on the title in dramatic fashion at the end of both the 1999-2000 and 2001-2022 season. 

Neverkusen depicts the team’s image as perennial runners-up. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. That was until Alonso walked through the gates in October 2022. After taking the club from second bottom to sixth in the Bundesliga last season, Leverkusen are 42-games unbeaten this term – and one win from their first ever German title.

The Spaniard has taken the club from second bottom to being on the brink of being champions

Bayer Leverkusen fans will no longer have to hear the name ‘Neverkusen’ after this campaign 

Alonso’s connection with Leverkusen’s fans only strengthened when he committed his future to the club, despite interest from Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. But he had to earn their trust at the start.

‘At first I was really sceptical,’ says Kara Head, who used to run Leverkusen’s English social media channels. ‘He had a great history as a player but hadn’t coached that much.’

Few could have anticipated just how remarkable this season would be.

‘I knew we had a good team with a good coach, but no one could have expected that we would have this unbeaten run,’ says fan Lara. ‘It’s crazy, 42 games and counting.’

Alonso is only 42 years old and one of his strengths is his ability to join in with training, showing his players how he wants them to pass and move and the intensity they have to play at.

It is perhaps no surprise that somebody who has played under Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti has been able to make the transition from player to manager seamlessly.

‘It feels like he knows how to beat any team,’ Kara continues. ‘He finds a way, he makes the right substitutions, he reads the game so well. It’s like when he was a player, but now he has even more control. He’s a strategist. He’s somehow brought everything together in a perfect way. It shows you what a difference a coach can make.’

Supporting Leverkusen is described as a rollercoaster with constant ups and downs. The club has been building towards this success for some time, but Alonso was the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle.

Alonso has already committed his future to the club after being linked with a return to Liverpool or Bayern Munich 

The club are on an incredible unbeaten run in the Bundesliga and set to win first-ever title 

They club are also unbeaten in Europe and have reached the Europa League quarter-finals 

‘The team has been playing beautiful football over the last decade or so, but they were a victim of their own mistakes, either in defence or attack,’ says fan Peter.

‘Xabi seems to have refined these areas and has a very effective style of football with lots of possession and different attacking options.

‘I see this as the conclusion of a long-term process, also related to the change of mentality of the club management. Hopefully this is the start of a glorious era.’

Alonso’s decision to commit to Leverkusen for at least another season took many by surprise, but not those closely connected to the club.

The Spaniard has spent the last 18 months telling his players that “this is the place to be”. Jumping ship would have felt like a betrayal.

‘I’m glad he did that really early because it was so annoying hearing every day “where is he going? Where is he going?”,’ Kara says.

‘The day he said he was staying I said: “we’re winning the Champions League next season!”

‘Leverkusen has been a bit like Dortmund, seen as a development team. Players who are not at Bayern, they’re looking to go somewhere else.

‘But Alonso has done a really good job of changing that. He’s really sold to them what they’re doing.

‘The club will always be more attractive as long as Xabi Alonso is here. I wonder what will happen after he leaves because at some point I guess that he will.’

Competing with the financial might of Bayern is not easy. Alonso and his backroom team made astute signings in the summer. Granit Xhaka has been a revelation since his move from Arsenal, while free transfer Alex Grimaldo has been one of the signings of the season.

‘I don’t think anyone would say Leverkusen has the best squad in the world, definitely not the most expensive players in the world,’ Kara says.

‘If you look at the salaries between us and Bayern there is a big difference. The fact he’s been able to do so much with the team is crazy. Our club can compete with the best teams without obnoxious spending or being wasteful.’

Former Arsenal man Granit Xhaka has been a revelation since his move from The Emirates 

Alonso is only 42 years old and one of his strengths is his ability to join in with training

Leverkusen have seen off Bayern Munich and the Bundesliga’s leading scorer Harry Kane 

Guardiola is renowned for his obsession with the condition of Manchester City’s pitch at the Etihad while Mikel Arteta is understood to be similarly protective of the Emirates. It appears Alonso, whose team plays an expansive passing style of football, is no different.

‘The pitch is one of the reasons they’ve had such a good season,’ Kara explains. ‘It usually wins awards and they look after it really well. It’s been so important for the passing style of football they play.’

Leverkusen’s managing director Simon Rolfes has even asked supporters not to storm the pitch if they win the title on Sunday, though those calls are likely to fall on deaf ears.

If Leverkusen go all season unbeaten they will be the first Bundesliga side to do so and will likely be presented with a golden shield, rather than the usual silver. Some fans think that success would be enough to earn him a statue. If they manage to win the Europa League and German Cup, his case will be even greater.

‘If he does that and goes unbeaten I think he has to,’ Kara says.

There is an acceptance that it is a case of when, not if Alonso leaves in the future. But for now, fans are enjoying the time he is here and the success he may bring – this season and beyond.

‘I think he is a very classy and honourable person,’ says Fabian, who has been supporting the club since the age of six.

‘I think with one more season together, he can prepare the club for a future of being Bayern’s main rival for years to come.’

There is a line in Bayer 04 – we stand by you, the club’s anthem played before games, which says ‘We have the UEFA Cup and the DFB Pokal, next time they’ll win the Bundesliga.’

The lyrics may need updating after Sunday. ‘We’ve changed it already, because when it’s been played in the stadium this season, we’ve sung “this year” instead of next time,’ says Marie, who has been going to matches since she was five years old. ‘Tomorrow, we will sing “today.”’

Success is in Alonso’s DNA but years of hurt meant it took many Leverkusen supporters until February or March to truly believe they could win the league. They lost the title on the final day of 1999-2000 and needed just three points from their last four games in 2001-2002, only to lose out to Borussia Dortmund. For now, the champagne is on ice.

‘Everybody is finally ready,’ Kara says. ‘Surely this time it can’t go wrong?’