Bayer Leverkusen is being the great revelation of European football with the feat of the Bundesliga without defeats (there are two games still to be played). That goal has been achieved by Spanish Sergi Runge, 30, with his Bayer Leverkusen U-17 team. The other ‘Xabi Alonso’ was proclaimed champion of the Western Bundesliga with 21 wins and five draws. And now, he will play this Wednesday in the semifinals against Eintracht and if he advances to the final, he would face the winner of Leipzig-Dortmund.
Sergi Runge learned German when he was three years old at school and spoke it until he was 13, which was one of the most important points in leaving Barcelona for Bayer, although his first six months were a challenge speaking in another language. While at La Masia he became champion of Cadet A and confessed that he would have liked to “stay longer, but opportunities come when one least imagines it.” He also passed through Alajuelense, from Costa Rica, before landing in Leverkusen in March 2022.
Since 2010, the club has not been group champion and for the Spanish coach it is “a source of pride as a coach, I am very happy for my players because they have invested a lot of effort in achieving this.” Bayer Leverkusen plays in B-Junioren West (Bundesliga West) with “a lot of competition and a competitive group.” The club is in an area where “there is a lot of population where Cologne, Dortmund, Schalke 04, Bochum and Borussia Mönchengladbach are located.”
“No one imagined at the beginning of the season that it would end undefeated, but as the days go by it also becomes a mini-goal. Something similar to what you see in the first team. There are no secrets, just daily work. We must also highlight the previous work of the scouts who signed these players five and seven years ago, and the coaches who trained them in previous stages. It is a club success,” he tells AS about his great work during the season.
Sergi Runge was appointed first coach of Leverkusen’s U17s in July 2022 and lost his last game to date in October. He had nine games without losing last season that joins those of this season. “Success lies in three generations: 2006, 2007 and 2008. Everyone has had their share of prominence and the basis of success is not having depended on any player,” explains the Spanish coach. Two very good players from those generations are part of the U-19 and played five games with Leverkusen U-17. These are Francis Onyeka and Ken Izekor, who made his debut with the first team against Mölde, in the Europa League.
He adds: “The squad is very complete with an outstanding goalkeeper, a strong defensive line, having managed to be the team with the least goals scored in the three groups.” In that defense appears Melvin, on loan from Real Madrid, in the middle of the field, the Mensah brothers (Naba and Jeremiah), both have represented Germany U-17, and Francesco Buono. In attack they have been able to count on Kerim Alajbegovic who has been key since Christmas and Artem Stepanov, who has finished as top scorer. Montrell Culbreath has also played an important role in his team, scoring decisive goals.
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Bayer 04 LeverkusenVitalii KliuievBayer 04 Leverkusen
After winning the Bundesliga West, Bayer will play Eintracht in the semifinals for the national title. Sergi Runge tells AS that they are not going to “experiment ahead of the semifinal. Before the game we will give the boys four main game situations: press, defend, overcome pressure and attack. There is no much time”.
The next step in his career is at Bayer Leverkusen because he does not set long-term goals, he prefers to live in the moment. “I don’t usually make long-term plans and now I think about the present, about playing in the semi-final against Eintracht,” he confesses to AS.
Bayer Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso…
The Spanish coach also has words for the excellent campaign of the first team after breaking the hegemony of Bayern Munich. “Watching the team play allowed you to imagine that they would fight for the Bundesliga until the end. I have never seen a team win by luck. Against Dortmund at home they had the ball with superiority, they went to Leipzig and the same thing… It was an incredible joy for the club because they won the Bundesliga for the first time. Now they have the Cup final and the Europa League semi-finals,” said Sergi Runge.
About Xabi Alonso: “I pay a lot of attention to him (Xabi Alonso). I am lucky to see quite a few training sessions and in the youth team they try to have the same style of play so that the adaptation for the players is as quick as possible. Furthermore, I do it for myself because you can learn both at the playing and training level, it is a luxury to have it so close.”
Sergi Runge has shown that he is capable of taking on big challenges at the German club and he is happy being on “the training ground, watching the team play and having a good rapport with the players, so that they have the feeling that you are helping them.” He is learning a lot and would love to continue growing as a professional because we must remember that he has only just begun his career on the bench. We must follow this young coach closely.
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