February 23’rds 2-1 win by Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen over Mainz 05 signaled their 33rd game unbeaten, getting them a place among some of the longest undefeated runs in European football history, now tied with the streak achieved by Jose Mourinho’s legendary Porto side that won the Champions League in 2004. Come to think of it, this Leverkusen side isn’t much different from the legendary Porto side. A young manager bursting onto the scene, with an unassuming side, and taking them to a trophy nobody thought they’d win. For Porto, it was the Champions League, for Leverkusen it’s the Bundesliga, getting closer to ending Bayern’s decade of dominance. They also had some really good future stars. With Porto, we saw stars like Deco, Ricardo Carvalho, and Vitor Baia, as with Leverkusen we see some great potential future stars, such as Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, and Victor Boniface. As sensational as this club has been this season, I don’t think it’s cemented itself in the history books just yet. However, there is a very good shot it can do it this season.
Leverkusen have between 16-22 games to go this season, which is no light load. However, with this number of games remaining, they can break history, or at least get very, very close. Let’s look at some history. The longest unbeaten run in football history is AC Milan, having gone 58 matches in a row without defeat between 1991 and 1993, and to give you an idea of how crazy that run is, Leverkusen are only 57% of the way there. They’d have to avoid defeat in their 22 remaining matches this season, and then in their opening 3 matches of the 24/25 season to just match the record. Okay, maybe they can’t break that history this season, so let’s look at something less ambitious. The record starting in the year 2000 is Juventus, going 43 matches without defeat from May 2011 to May 2012. In order to break that record, Leverkusen would have to avoid defeat in the following matches:
@ Koln
@ Qarabag
vs Wolfsburg
vs Qarabag
@ Freiburg
vs Hoffenheim
vs Dusseldorf
@ Union Berlin
1st Leg UEL QF
vs Werder Bremen
2nd Leg UEL QF
None of these games, on the surface at least, seem too daunting, but there’s the question of the Europa League Quarterfinals. If all of the favourites in the RO16 win their ties, these will be their possible opponents:
- Sporting
- Roma
- Liverpool
- Milan
- West Ham
- Benfica
- Villarreal
Winning a tie against any of these teams is no simple task, and Leverkusen may have to rely on a team like Rangers, Freiburg, or Slavia Praha pulling off upsets in their fixtures and then getting them in the draw. There’s no shame in praying for a good tie.
Breaking this record can get them to cement their status as one of the greatest underdog teams in history, however, there’s arguably another record to get them forever remembered – Winning the Bundesliga.
Let’s get straight to it – Leverkusen need 8 wins and 1 draw in their last 11 games, and they’ll win the Bundesliga no matter what, and that’s considering this disjointed Hollywood FC Bayern side win their last 11 matches. That seems relatively straightforward, considering this team doesn’t have the bottle gene. Another way to get themselves into the record books would be to break the Bundesliga record points total – 91. Now, that doesn’t seem like much, until you realize the Bundesliga only has 34 matches. That means Leverkusen need 10 wins and 1 draw to get to 92 points.
Another way to win the record books over for Xabi Alonso’s side is to win the 3 remaining competitions they’re in – the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal, and the Europa League. We’ve covered the Bundesliga and Europa League. Presently, Leverkusen have Fortuna Dusseldorf in the Semi finals, with the other semifinal being the winner of Borussia Monchengladbach and FC Saarbrucken, the third division side that knocked out Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt. So probably Monchengladbach. I hope we can see Saarbrucken make it all the way to the final to face Leverkusen, but I don’t think that even Saarbrucken can beat Leverkusen. Would be hilarious, though, if they’re the ones to end Leverkusen’s unbeaten run in the Pokal final.
Anyway, that’s my diagnosis on this Leverkusen team, and how they can cement themselves in the history books. I’ll try to watch as many Leverkusen games as I can for the rest of the season, because this team is special. I’m Jim James, until next time.