The first German champion in eleven years, who is not called Bayern Munich, has also caused a huge stir internationally. Voices from other European countries.
That in Spain with Felipe VI. It is well known that a king holds the office of head of state. After Leverkusen’s first championship title, Germany now has a king again. At least according to the Spanish press.
Spain
“Brand”: “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.”
“As”: “Bayer Leverkusen is champion. Xabi is champion. Football is champion. After eleven years of Bayern’s tyranny, the king has changed in the Bundesliga for the first time.”
“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 lead a broken, identityless and league-worn team into a dimension that 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.”
And also the “Sports world“ reaches into the box of large and meaningful vocabulary: “Bayer Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso is already a legend.”
Great Britain
“The Guardian”: “Especially because of Bayer’s corporate support, the Leverkusen team hardly inspires any greater sympathy among the German football audience. The plastic label continues to haunt them. So perhaps the greatest achievement of Alonso’s team this season was to create 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.”
“Independet”: “Bayer Leverkusen wins the championship and ends Bayern Munich’s run of eleven titles. Leverkusen was down 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 a 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 (… ).
France
“The Team”: “Bayer Leverkusen did not tremble. (…) Winning the championship after eleven years of Bavarian hegemony is one thing. Crowning yourself with five match days before the end is another. An XXL performance that commands respect.”
“The Parisian”: “A historic achievement to which coach Xabi Alonso, who has completely revolutionized this team, is anything but a stranger.”
Praise, euphoria and a declaration of war arrow to the right
Italy
“Corriere dello Sport”: “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, which makes the triumph (…) even sweeter .”
“Corriere della Sera”: “Bayer celebrates. A letter changes, but that changes the world. The “Neverkusen”, so called because they have never won anything significant in their history (…) defeated Werder Bremen 5-0 ( …).”
Switzerland
“Tagesanzeiger”: “The Bundesliga has rarely seen a better champion. Leverkusen says goodbye to Vizekusen with the 5-0 win against Bremen and wants to gain financial muscle so that this title does not remain a one-off. (…) The club has the league off the yoke of FC Bayern Munich freed from the paralyzing 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’s dream goal secure Leverkusen the title. Bayern’s dominance in the Bundesliga is over. At 7:19 p.m. (…) all dams finally break: Bayer Leverkusen beats Werder Bremen 5-0 And it’s the first Bundesliga title for Leverkusen in the club’s history. The joy of the team, the staff and the fans is indescribable! Thousands storm the pitch and cheer with their heroes.”