April 14, (THEWILL)- When the final whistle blows at the Bay Arena in Leverkusen, Germany on Sunday, the world of football may bear witness to the stuff of dreams – an unprecedented, invincible league campaign achieved by one of its historic underachievers. If Victor Boniface and his rampaging Bayer Leverkusen teammates overcome Werder Bremen, they will be crowned champions of Germany without a single defeat, a feat no side has managed in the glory-laden 61-year history of the Bundesliga.
Not even the iconic Bayern Munich dynasty at their intimidating peak conquered such dizzying heights of sporting immortality. For so long, Bayer Leverkusen were dismissed as the “Neverkusen” – the nearly men forever confined to the shadow of greatness as bridesmaids. However, the arrival of Xabi Alonso as manager has ignited an alchemy close to footballing sorcery.
The understated Spanish strategist, who graced the hallowed midfields of Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in his playing days, has transmuted Leverkusen into an unstoppable juggernaut. Embodying his fabled humility and technical wizardry as a player, Alonso has instilled a team ethic and tactical mastery that has rendered his side nigh-on unplayable.
The eye-popping statistics speak volumes. An unprecedented 42-game unbeaten run across all competitions. Twenty-four wins and four stalemates in 28 Bundesliga matches, amassing a record 76 points. Only two teams – Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich squad in 2013/2014 and Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund in 2011/2012 – have ever managed to embark on such a free-scoring, miserly start to a German season.
No team has been capable of sustaining this supremacy over the marathon 34-game schedule. Not the perpetual Bayern machine at their sumptuous peak. Not the Borussia Mönchengladbach vintage of the 1970s feted as the nation’s greatest ever side. This is uncharted territory.
At the vanguard of this potential era-defining, historic achievement is a new Nigerian forward anointing himself among the continent’s modern greats. Victor Boniface’s prodigious rise from relative obscurity to one of Europe’s most feared marksmen has been key to Leverkusen’s domestic dominance and continental charges.
The 22-year-old’s scintillating movement, predatory instincts and ice-cool finishing belie his years. Ten Bundesliga goals and seven assists underline his importance, the young Nigerian flitting between the lines and tormenting defences in tandem with the talismanic Florian Wirtz. His pinpoint headed finish against West Ham in midweek took his tally to 16 goals in 25 outings across all competitions for Bayer this season.
Boniface’s recent return from injury has provided a timely boost to Leverkusen’s armoury entering the run-in. Having missed over three months of the campaign due to a troubling groin issue, there were fears that his impact could be diminished. Those doubts have been erased, as Xabi Alonso’s squad finally has its full complement of personnel tuned to peak condition.
Along with the Grimaldo brothers, Alex and Jordi, Boniface forms just one part of a potent trident primed to take the Bundesliga by storm. Behind them, the seemingly indomitable spine of Edmond Tapsoba, Robert Andrich, Granit Xhaka and the rejuvenated Lukas Hradecky have formed an impregnable rearguard.
Such is the magnitude of their supremacy, the inevitability of Leverkusen’s coronation this season has prompted murmurings in Germany about commemorating their achievement with a golden Bundesliga shield or star above the club crest, a small memento to signify their immortality and symbolise the breaking of a sacred frontier.
For the superstitious and historically attuned followers of Deutschland’s favourite sport, crowning the “Neverkusen” bridesmaids as invincibles could be viewed as tempting fate’s wrath. The psychological scars from the 2001/2002 season still linger for many of the club’s long-suffering supporters.
That fateful campaign saw Klaus Toppmöller’s swashbuckling vintage containing Lucio, Michael Ballack and Dimitar Berbatov on the cusp of an unprecedented treble. They topped the Bundesliga going into the final day, only to choke in limp fashion as Borussia Dortmund snatched the title. The ignominy was compounded by losing the DFB-Pokal final to Schalke and the UEFA Champions League showpiece to Zinedine Zidane’s eponymous volley for Real Madrid.
Two decades on from that agonising nadir, the opportunity for redemption, for expunging those mental demons, has never been more attainable. Not only could Alonso’s immortals shatter new ground by going invincible in the league, but they remain in the hunt for a first-ever treble.
Leverkusen has the capacity to dismantle West Ham home and away to close on a Europa League semi-final berth. Should they navigate testing ties against AC Milan or Roma next, a blockbuster continental finale potentially awaits against Klopp’s Liverpool – the stage where Alonso wrote some of his most iconic chapters as a player. Although, Liverpool have a mountain to climb against Atalanta after losing their own first leg at home 3-nil.
Before that, the DFB-Pokal final in Berlin provides a shot at domestic double glory and a first major honour in over 30 years for Leverkusen. It offers further redemption for that 2002 hiccup, with an opportunity to rid the club of those “Neverkusen” taunts once and for all by becoming champions of Germany.
Rarely do opportunities arise for a club to etch their name into sporting immortality. To stand alone as untouchable icons who have achieved the unprecedented. That chance is within Boniface and Bayer Leverkusen’s grasp.
The stage is set at the BayArena on Sunday. Werder Bremen, a side winless in their last six Bundesliga outings, are the final impediment to clear before Leverkusen can be crowned as invincible champions. The magnitude of the occasion has not been lost on the phlegmatic Alonso.
“We have many chances – thankfully – but we’ll try and do it on Sunday,” the Spaniard said after the West Ham win. “We must be motivated, but not over-motivated.” That philosophy of maintaining emotional equilibrium while pursuing glory has been key to his side’s serene progress.
Captain Lukas Hradecky acknowledged such feats appeared fanciful at the start of the campaign. “I had almost written off the possibility of winning the title,” the veteran Finnish keeper confessed to Kicker this week. “If we become champions on Sunday, it will have no impact on how we play in the league. We need to live up to our role.”
Hradecky is adamant the loftier pursuit of immortality is fuelling his teammates. “We want to create something even more special than the championship: finish the league season without defeat. There are only five games left (after Sunday) and we won’t let up. Then it wouldn’t just be a championship, but one with a cherry on top.”
For the immortals of 2023/2024, collecting a golden Bundesliga shield already glistens as a tantalising target. But defeating the indomitables of Bayer Leverkusen, led by the relentless Boniface and the astute Alonso, is appearing an increasingly forlorn hope for the rest of German football this season.
In the humble Nigerian striker, his masterful Spanish manager has discovered the perfect disciple – a lethal component in forging an irresistible force that is marching inexorably towards greatness. Come Sunday evening, football could bear witness to its new undisputed kings.
While the immortality of an invincible Bundesliga campaign is tantalisingly within reach, Boniface, Alonso and their teammates must remain grounded in the face of Werder Bremen’s stubborn resistance. The visitors have proved a tough nut to crack at the BayArena in recent years, claiming a win and three draws from their last four visits. Should Leverkusen’s unbeaten juggernaut finally grind to a halt, the disappointment would be acute but temporary.
Alonso’s men have already earned their place in the history books by rewriting the record for the longest unbeaten streak by a German club across all competitions at 42 games. Winning the Bundesliga itself would represent a monumental achievement to savour for this new era-defining Leverkusen dynasty. The pursuit of immortality is the cherry on top of an already legendary campaign.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
