Excitement builds in Leverkusen ahead of expected Bundesliga title win
Sun, Apr 14, 2024
Soccer News (AP)
LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) - Excitement was building in Leverkusen, Germany on Sunday ahead of local team Bayer Leverkusen's expected Bundesliga title-clinching win to cap off an outstanding season.
Leverkusen is unbeaten in a German record 42 games across all competitions this season and it needs just one win from its last six Bundesliga games to be sure of winning the title for the first time.
The team's first opportunity comes against visiting Werder Bremen on Sunday.
Hours before kickoff, fans were already gathering to soak in the atmosphere and drink the local Kolsch light beer on a sunny afternoon.
Houses were decorated with club banners and scarves along the streets from the city's main train station to the BayArena stadium, and tape in the club's black and red colors decorated trees. Fans lined the main road to the stadium to greet the team bus.
In a nearby park, next to a freshly painted mural of forward Florian Wirtz's No. 10 shirt, vendors did a brisk trade in "German champion 2024" hats, as well as scarves reading "Thank You Xabi Alonso" - a tribute to the coach who has turned the team into a title contender.
Leverkusen fans have been waiting a long time for success after enduring a number of painful near misses, finishing runner-up in 2011, 2002, 2000, 1999 and 1997. The club also lost German Cup and Champions League finals in 2002. Only the club's older fans remember the German Cup win in 1993, or the UEFA Cup victory in 1998.
"At least no one will say 'Vicekusen' anymore, which is very important," said Germany sporting director Rudi Voller, who is a former Leverkusen sporting director and player. "It was a term that annoyed me for decades, but you have to put up with it, we never managed it before. But that's over."
Last-place Darmstadt was hosting Freiburg for the early match before Leverkusen was to play.
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