Can serial winner Xabi Alonso silence the ‘Neverkusen’ taunts? Premium

Leverkusen fans hope Xabi Alonso's young squad can end 30-yr trophy drought. With 16 wins in 17 matches, they've matched Bayern's best-ever start & play an exciting brand of football. Experienced heads guide the young talent, & shrewd transfers have kept goals flowing.

In football, nicknames often stick — especially the cruel ones, coined by rival fans. 

Bayer Leverkusen supporters have not lived down an annoyingly apt nickname for several years: ‘Neverkusen’, because of all the near misses the North Rhine-Westphalia club has endured during the 30 barren years since its last trophy, the 1992-93 DFB Pokal. 

The most heartbreaking of the close calls was the ‘treble that never was’ in 2002, runner-up finishes in the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and UEFA Champions League. Given the other ‘nearly moments’, which included letting the league title slip from its grasp on the final day of the 1999-2000 season, it’s no wonder that Leverkusen still bears deep mental scars.

But the start to 2023-24 has allowed Die Werkself fans to dream again, thanks to what they have seen their team achieve under Xabi Alonso, a serial-winner as a player, now turning heads in his first senior role as head coach. 

Before the international break, Leverkusen matched the best ever start to a Bundesliga season, with 31 out of 33 points after a 4-0 win over Union Berlin in Gameweek 11. That equalled Bayern Munich’s record from 2015-16 — back when Alonso was a classy midfielder playing for the German powerhouse under Pep Guardiola, who oversaw three successful seasons at Munich. 

Indeed, the only points Leverkusen has dropped came in a pulsating 2-2 draw at reigning champion Bayern’s home — a result described as “fair” by players and coaches from both sides.

“I think we played on the same level,” Alonso said after the draw back in September. “We have shown personality. We have shown quality. We have shown mentality, and that’s the main thing to build on. There will come worse moments and that’s when we need to stick together.”