How Bayer Leverkusen went unbeaten in the Bundesliga…

Though the stunning unbeaten campaign of 2023-24 — which may yet be capped by Europa League and German Cup triumphs  — has captured global attention, Bayer Leverkusen’s charge to a first Bundesliga title has its origins in a miserable start to the previous campaign. Gerardo Seoane, who had overseen a third-placed finish the season before, was gone by October 2022, having won just five points from the first eight games.

The subsequent appointment of Xabi Alonso, who had never coached a senior side before, was something of a risk, with Leverkusen in real danger of following other German heavyweights such as Schalke, Hamburg and Hertha Berlin into the second division.

“This shouldn’t be viewed as an experiment for Leverkusen. It’s not about experience: It’s about quality,” sporting director Simon Rolfes said on Alonso’s appointment. “There’s always an element of risk involved, but you always have to improve. I’m absolutely convinced it will work out.

It’s fair to say it did. After mixed results in his first month, Alonso’s style started to come through. A system based on control of possession, width from wingbacks and a high press saw Leverkusen pick up 46 points from their last 24 games, qualify for the Europa League and confirm the cerebral former Real Madrid, Liverpool and Bayern Munich midfielder as a coach to watch.

The sale of Moussa Diaby to Premier League side Aston Villa for €55 million (about $58 million) meant Rolfes had an opportunity to help Alonso build a squad in his image for this season. Nigeria striker Victor Boniface (€20.5 million) and experienced midfielders Jonas Hofmann (€10 million) and Granit Xhaka (€15 million) have been critical to Leverkusen’s run.

Boniface got them off to a flyer, scoring six in his first five games before injury, while Xhaka has added steel and presence to a midfield that lacked both. Hofmann, always a canny operator, has featured in 32 Bundesliga games and links Leverkusen’s midfield and attack.

But there’s little doubting the best-value arrival, with Alex Grimaldo’s free transfer from Benfica almost certainly the No. 1 deal that any German club made this term. Grimaldo has scored 10 and assisted 14 goals in the league. The Barcelona youth product, in tandem with Dutchman Jeremie Frimpong, has offered width, set pieces and penetration that has proved impossible to handle for the rest of the league.

“I think that’s one of my strengths in knowing where I can cause damage, knowing where the spaces are,” Grimaldo told the Bundesliga in December. “With the freedom that Xabi has given me with the block we’ve got, it means I know how to attack the space and have the chances to score.

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