Arsenal probably won’t be champions of England this year, but the ‘Invincibles’ seem to be back. This nickname – given to the team of Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira during their undefeated 2003-2004 season in the Premier League – was emulated in Germany twenty years later. Saturday May 18, Bayer Leverkusen completed its perfect season in the Bundesliga (twenty-eight wins, six draws), winning against Augsburg, in front of its home crowd (2-1), thanks to goals from Victor Boniface and Robert Andrich at the start of the meeting.
Author of an exceptional season, the club of coach Xabi Alonso managed to put an end to the hegemony of Bayern Munich, winner of the last eleven German championships. All in style. By chaining together victories, and above all systematically maintaining suspense. Against Stuttgart on April 27, the Werkself waited until the sixth minute of added time to snatch the equalizer through Robert Andrich (2-2). A month earlier, the Bayer players were still led by Hoffenheim in the final moments before turning the match around to win (2-1).
“To remain undefeated in the Bundesliga, we would be the first team [to sign such a feat] and we would make history,” Alonso anticipated before his team’s first “final” at the end of the season. Because the 2023-2024 financial year could soon be more than perfect in North Rhine-Westphalia. After winning the title of German champion for the first time in its history, Bayer Leverkusen will try to finish in style by not conceding any defeat in all competitions. To achieve this, he still has two steps to climb: the final of the Europa League, against Atalanta Bergamo, on May 22, then that of the German Cup, against Kaiserslautern, residents of the second division, on May 25 . If they succeed, star Florian Wirtz and his teammates will have a 53-match unbeaten season.
A tattoo to remember
With his full card validated in the championship, Xabi Alonso does not intend to waste these last matches. “We can celebrate with our supporters, but, from Monday, we will need to be completely focused on our final week,” warned the ex-Real Madrid midfielder (in particular). He and his team will then be able to fully savor and take the measure of their achievement, regardless of the result of their last two matches. Since 1945, only Perugia, AC Milan and Juventus Turin in Italy, and therefore Arsenal in England, have managed to finish a championship undefeated.
There is no doubt that Bayer supporters will not soon forget this season. But, just in case, the club decided to do a small gesture, by offering them a free tattoo of one of the team’s visuals to “perpetuate this unique season on [their] skin”. An initiative echoed in the words of Xabi Alonso at the beginning of May, considering “that everyone is on the boat and that everyone feels concerned by what we do”. A boat which is now sailing towards the Champions League. It now remains to be seen with which sailors, with Bayer players promising to be very courted this summer.
