Bayer Leverkusen ai??i?? Finally, Some Silverware?

By Aditya Balaram
10 years Ago

Without a trophy since 1993, Bayer Leverkusen have come ever so close to silverware but always failed. Under Roger Schmidt, ending this drought seems highly likely.

Reading into the first few games of the season, especially in the tumultuous Bundesliga, would seem fairly ridiculous. After all, Bayern Munich havenai??i??t hit their stride yet. Borussia Dortmund have begun with an injury crisis. Wolfsburg and Borussia MAi??nchengladbach are yet to gel completely. But to disregard a promising start is ridiculous too.

Bayer Leverkusen, dubbed Neverkusen for their innumerable title slip ups, have begun the new season in scintillating fashion. A 6-0 drubbing of DFB Pokal debutants Alemannia Waldalgesheim might not count for much but the three results since surely do count for something. Kick starting the league with a fairly comfortable 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund is no simple feat, especially when Leverkusen themselves are ushering in a new era under Roger Schmidt.

More than the result, it was the manner in which Leverkusen dealt with Dortmund. Sitting back, comfortably soaking all the pressure Dortmund had to offer, Leverkusen were immensely potent on the counter. Despite the shift from the more defense minded 4-3-3 to a free flowing 4-2-3-1, the back four had no problems dealing with Dortmundai??i??s attacking threats.

If the 2-0 win over Dortmund wasnai??i??t a good enough start, a 7-2 aggregate victory over FC Copenhagen in the UEFA Champions League compounds their early brilliance. While the first leg may have exposed a few chinks in the Leverkusen armory, the 4-0 thrashing at the BayArena put any worries to bed.

And it isnai??i??t just a start of four wins that is promising. The manner in which Leverkusen have gone about taking apart their opponents has been a treat to watch. They seem more fluid in attack under Schmidt, especially since they now have an additional attacking body. While a lot will depend on the fitness of Stefan KieAYling, Leverkusen have much needed depth in attack.

The likes of Hakan Calhanoglu and Karim Bellarabi seem at home in Schmidtai??i??s system. The previously used 4-3-3 may have made life hard for some of the new signings, but the more amenable 4-2-3-1 that Schmidt employs allows for a lot more freedom. Schmidtai??i??s Leverkusen seems to resemble the system that Klopp uses at Dortmund; gegenpressing, rapid counter attacks, quick interchanges in attack.

Leverkusenai??i??s lack of players at the World Cup this summer has worked greatly in their favour. In fact, only two of the players in the current squad made the trip to Brazil. This has left most of the squad a lot fresher than those of Bayern, Schalke and Dortmund, their most serious competitors in the league. This fatigue disparage should allow Leverkusen to build some sort of a gap between at least one, if not all three, of the title challengers.

All of Leverkusenai??i??s new arrivals have hit the ground running. The earlier mentioned duo of Calhanoglu and Bellarabi, who returned after a loan spell, have been ruthless in attack. 18-year-old Tin Jedvaj already seems like the signing of the season. Wendell hasnai??i??t been used in a competitive enough environment yet but seems like good cover for Sebastian Boenisch. Josip Drmic and Papadopoulos are yet to put in enough time but given their earlier exploits in the Bundesliga, they should do fairly well for Schmidt.

The Champions League group stage draws couldnai??i??t have been a lot better for Leverkusen as they were drawn into a group with Benfica, Zenit Saint Petersburg and AS Monaco. Although Leverkusen might not be odds on favourites to make it through, there isnai??i??t a call for the spectacular to progress from this group.

With schedules and draws working in favour of Leverkusen, they will surely be a threat on all fronts. Dortmund and Bayern might be the forerunners for glory in the Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal, but Leverkusen look more than able to match German footballai??i??s big boys. Die Werkself may still not have what it takes to go the distance in continental competition but they are more than just round of 16 walkovers. They have the depth in personnel to be able to compete seriously on at least two, if not three fronts and this is what separates them from the likes of Wolfsburg and Schalke.

What Schmidt is attempting to build at Leverkusen looks like a hugely exciting project. The style of play that Leverkusen are looking to adopt is what modern football is all about. While it may not be a side to take football by storm for a sustained period, they should be able to catch the attention of the football world over the next year or so. The physical stress that this Klopp-esque philosophy exerts may be too much to handle but over a really short period, Leverkusen will be a major threat.

German success at the World Cup couldnai??i??t have come at a better time for Leverkusen. The Schmidt project is already at full throttle, while others are still looking to get their sides to gel. Leverkusen finally have the depth to keep pace throughout the entire season. This may well be the year they bid goodbye to the Neverkusen tag. Their two decade long trophy drought looks very likely to end in the near future.

Categories: Features, German Bundesliga
Tags: Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga Roger Schmidt Stefan KieAYling

Without a trophy since 1993, Bayer Leverkusen have come ever so close to silverware but always failed. Under Roger Schmidt, ending this drought seems highly likely.

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