Xabi's aspirin (Jorge Barraza, Último tango, opinion)

After a long dictatorship of eleven consecutive crowns for Bayern Munich – an absolute record in the first world of football – the Bundesliga finally seems to be close to celebrating the advent of a new champion. So new that it has never lifted the trophy in 120 years of life. This is Bayer Leverkusen, which, with 12 games left, leads the German tournament with a 7-point advantage over Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller's club. Which could be 10 again this Sunday.

He still has a dozen difficult commitments left, but it seems difficult – due to his well-oiled performance, his colorful and effective game – for him to fall from here to the end. However, their fight on three fronts, with high possibilities on all, leaves their fans a feeling of vertigo, an ambiguous tingle.

Everyone wants to win the Bundesliga for the first time and be the heroes who put an end to Bayern's streak, but they are so close to winning the German Cup (in the semi-finals they will face Fortuna Dusseldorf, a Second Division team), and so well on their way in the Europa League (in the round of 16) that begin to swing between the euphoria of winning everything and the fear of losing everything. Because they dream of the triplet and there are 21 games left to do so.

Added to the possible mental and physical fatigue is the fear of injury. There is already a first important loss, that of their scorer Víctor Boniface. The Nigerian will have to undergo surgery and will be missing just in the most decisive part of the season. What reassures managers, coaching staff, players and fans is the overwhelming performance of the red and black team. He is undefeated in 35 games in this 2023-2024 season. So far they have won in the 4 games for the German Cup with 19 goals for and 5 against, in 6 of the 7 in the Europa League (the other was a draw) with 21 conversions and only 5 falls from their goal and in the The league has 20 wins and 4 draws with 61 goals scored and 16 conceded. In the championship they already met Bayern twice and it was a 2-2 draw and a 3-0 win.

How did it all begin…? cIt's a resounding start to the 2022-2023 Bundesliga. Five defeats in the eight initial duels determined the departure of Swiss coach Gerardo Seoane. The executive president chosen by the pharmaceutical company Bayer – owner of the club – the Spanish Fernando Carro, took a chance on a compatriot who had taken his first steps in the role in the Real Sociedad subsidiary: Xabi Alonso.

The former Madrid player took over immediately and had a debut that would be prescient: they beat Schalke 04 4-0. A very opportune change of direction. They would achieve another 12 victories to finish in European positions. At the end of the cycle, Xavi made a profound renovation of the squad – he removed twelve players and added eleven – and the team flourished even more until it became the sensation of Europe. He treats the players like Jurgen Klopp, a kind of older brother, and has earned their respect. Today, Xabi is the most coveted coach on the continent. Bayern Munich and Liverpool sigh for the Basque. His future for next season will be one of the bombs of the European summer along with Mbappé. Will he continue in Leverkusen…?

The style that Xabi Alonso imposed

Xabi has imposed a “Barcelona style” passing style, very effective and visually very beautiful, as well as forceful, the latter confirmed in the +75 goal difference: they have scored 101 and suffered only 26 since the start of the tournaments. Amazing efficiency. The team is the highlight of Leverkusen, b
ut it is based on several brilliant individuals. “Xhaka, the Swiss arrived from Arsenal, and the Argentine Exequiel Palacios, are the owners of the midfield, everything begins with them,” says Abel Volkner, a Peruvian-German journalist. The incorporation of the Spanish Grimaldo has been fundamental, a locomotive on the left wing, who can be sent to the attack because he is well covered by Hincapié. The young Wirtz, 20 years old, is the revelation, very skilled and intelligent, with an un-German game, and Tah, a big central defender, very firm in defense, especially when tall. “They are the pillars of the team.”

Germany's leading club belongs one hundred percent to Bayer, the German multinational of aspirin, Redoxon and Alka-Seltzer. In Germany, the famous 50+1 rule applies, which establishes that in every First or Second Division club, half plus one of the property must belong to the members, that is, to their fans. However, there are two exceptions, which are Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg (from Volkswagen), since they were founded by workers from their respective owning companies and have been financed by those companies for a period of more than 20 years.

Despite Germany having a hundred companies of global importance such as Lufthansa, Mercedes Benz, Adidas, Puma, DHL, Allianz, Air Bus, Siemens, Basf, Volkswagen, Boehringer and many others that would like to enter football and could increase their power, The fans oppose them taking over their clubs. “The German spectator traditionally has a close relationship with his club,” said the general director of Borussia Dortmund, Hans-Joachim Watzke, in 2016, a staunch defender of the 50 + 1 Rule. “And if he has the feeling that he is no longer a fan but a client, we will have a problem. Most clubs will not get a Roman Abramovich, who first of all wanted to see Chelsea win. Almost all investors want to make money. “And where do they get it from? From the viewers.”

However, Bayer never used its economic power to prevail in football. Yes, Leverkusen has been a prolific discoverer and trainer of talents. Abel Volkner returns: “Among the greats of Leverkusen are Michael Ballack and Toni Kroos, who later moved to Bayern, but this club is known as the most Latin of the German teams. When no one was looking towards South America, Bayer brought in Tita, the one who played for Flamengo with Zico. And then quantities arrived: the Brazilians Jorginho, Lucio, Juan, Emerson, Zé Roberto, Paulo Sergio, Paulinho, Renato Augusto, Roque Junior, Cris… The Chileans Arturo Vidal and Charles Aránguiz, the Mexicans Chicharito Hernández and Andrés Guardado, the Argentinians Placente and Alario… And they always gave results. In Germany they didn't want South Americans, they thought they were a problem, but now they see that in the Premier League there are 60 footballers from South America. And they stand out. Bayer was the one that took the lead.”

Leverkusen is a small city of 160,000 inhabitants whose life is closely linked to the world-famous company. “It is on the outskirts of Cologne, which has a great football tradition. Cologne fans largely despise Leverkusen, they consider it somewhat lesser, they say that it is a plastic team because it belongs to a company and that their classic is with Borussia Monchengladbach, but in recent years Leverkusen has always beaten them to Colon
ia, it is much stronger in terms of football,” adds Abel, who sometimes acts as a translator in the Bundesliga for Spanish-speaking players. Just the previous Sunday, the eleven where Gustavo Puerta plays beat Colonia 2-0 at home.

The German fans are also loud, but they don't have little songs. If they were in Argentina, those from Bayer would already be singing the well-known “Aspirina champion, Aspirina champion, we stop Bayern and we encourage you from the bottom of our hearts…”.

Last tango…

Jorge Barraza

For the time

@JorgeBarrazaOK