LEVERKUSEN – Hours after leading Bayer Leverkusen to their maiden German Bundesliga title, coach Xabi Alonso told thousands of delirious fans that “we want more”, laying down a marker in pursuit of a remarkable treble.
“We want more. We want the (German) Cup, we want Europa League,” the 42-year-old said over the stadium public address system on April 14 to Leverkusen fans after his side’s 43rd straight match without defeat.
With a German Cup final meeting with second-division Kaiserslautern already booked for May 25, Leverkusen’s next task is the trip to London to face West Ham United in their Europa League quarter-final, second leg on April 18.
Alonso’s side hold a 2-0 lead after the first leg, meaning anything other than a stunning loss to David Moyes’ Hammers will keep their treble dreams alive.
The 5-0 win over Werder Bremen at the weekend not only broke Bayern Munich’s 11-year stranglehold on the German top-flight title, it flushed five-time runners-up Leverkusen’s unwanted “Neverkusen” tag for good.
With only two major titles in the club’s history before April 14, Alonso’s men can more than double their tally by completing the treble, and their immediate focus will now be on the Europa League.
This season, the Spaniard has repeatedly said that the club needed to be patient, even as the Bundesliga title grew more and more likely.
After the triumph, he pushed talk of the West Ham match away, saying: “Now is the moment to celebrate and enjoy.”
But he will surely have thought of a plan to win in London.
If overturning a 2-0 deficit seems like a mountain to climb for West Ham, the statistics speak even less in their favour.
Leverkusen have failed to score only once in 43 games this season and have netted 123 goals in total.
West Ham, on the other hand, have kept only one clean sheet in their past 18 fixtures – although that did come against German opposition in their 5-0 drubbing of Freiburg in the last-16, second leg at the London Stadium.
Alonso’s focus on the treble has been widely adopted by Leverkusen’s squad, with several players reminding fans after the weekend win that the season is not over yet.
Nigeria striker Victor Boniface, given a first start in 2024 after missing several months with a groin injury, echoed his coach’s statements over the loudspeaker.
“We want to say thank you for your support from the beginning of the season,” he said.
“And we still have two more finals to give you guys.”
Despite his long absence, Boniface is Leverkusen’s top scorer this season, with 18 goals in all competitions.
The Germans seem to have all the ingredients not only for more success this season – but to build an era.
Leverkusen chief executive Fernando Carro, who took over the club in 2018 pledging to end the long wait for a league title, has ruled out any big sales.
“The team and the coach have shown that they’re greedy, that they want to keep winning and they don’t want to stop,” he said.
“We want to keep going.” AFP
