Bayer Leverkusen have emerged victorious, pushing Bayern Munich off the throne after their 11-year reign.
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00:00 It's been 11 years of Bayern Munich dominance in German football, but their golden era is finally over.
00:07 Bayer Leverkusen are the new Bundesliga champions, so let's take a look at how they've pulled it off.
00:14 Hello and welcome to Football Now.
00:21 For the last 11 years, the Bundesliga has been dominated by only one club, Bayern Munich.
00:27 But their run of good fortune has come to an end, and in 2024 Germany has a new champion, Bayer Leverkusen.
00:35 They're a team who have never won the title before, so let's take a look back at what has been a historic season so far.
00:43 With their manager Xabi Alonso heading into his first full season in charge of the team, Leverkusen made some big moves in the transfer market.
00:52 He signed Arsenal and Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka to bolster his midfield, as well as left-back Alejandro Grimaldo from Benfica.
01:00 The opening game of the season brought a tense 3-2 win over Red Bull Leipzig, and Leverkusen never looked back from there.
01:07 Beating closest challengers Bayern Munich 3-0 in February was certainly crucial to their title pursuit,
01:13 and with Bayern continuing to drop points, by mid-April the title was all wrapped up for Alonso's team.
01:19 A 5-0 win at home to Werder Bremen mathematically confirmed Leverkusen as champions, with five games still left to play.
01:27 It's not just the league that is on offer this season too.
01:30 A DFB-Pokal final against Kaiserslautern could also deliver them a domestic double,
01:35 while in Europe they are on track to make the Europa League final and aim for a historic treble.
01:41 They had this unbeaten run that was going, a lot of people were talking about when this would come to an end,
01:47 and they started getting these wins from much closer games, much tighter games.
01:50 They also beat Mainz, which set the unbeaten record across all competitions for German football,
01:55 and that was seen as a pivotal moment, you know, will they make it to that far, will they make it to that stage?
02:00 And then added to that the fact that they then demolished Bayern 3-0,
02:03 that was Bayern's last big chance to get into the title race, and they were crushed in that game,
02:08 and of course that's a huge, huge momentum shift coming down the stretch in the title race.
02:13 Well, they've been runners-up on five previous occasions, but now it's finally their time to collect the silverware.
02:20 Any title win is special, but you never forget your first.
02:24 So, what does this win mean to the fans and the city of Leverkusen?
02:29 I mean, Leverkusen is, there are two things in Leverkusen, sports and the Bayerwerk, the Bayer company,
02:37 and there are many people who are Leverkusen fans who live there, and I think the whole city will celebrate the title or any trophy.
02:46 It means so, so much to all of the people in Leverkusen, to the club, to the team,
02:51 because we missed a couple of times the German trophy, and we are a little bit traumatised by it,
02:57 but when we finally made it, it will be a great, a big day, yes.
03:02 Well, this moment of glory for Leverkusen spells the end of an era for Bayern Munich.
03:08 They've won 11 back-to-back titles, but some have felt that failure this season has been in the mail for some time.
03:16 Their current manager, Thomas Tuchel, is their third coach in three years, and will leave the post in the summer.
03:23 So, what has gone so wrong in Munich?
03:26 What has gone wrong at Bayern starts off the field, for sure.
03:29 Right from the very top, there have been power struggles, internal conflicts, disagreements,
03:33 that have then just made their way through the club.
03:35 The players have felt a little bit less secure, we've seen more red cards,
03:39 we've seen more players arguing with the manager when things haven't gone the right way.
03:43 The club just seems to be in a little bit of turmoil.
03:45 In reality, this Bayern team weren't good enough last year, and Dortmund hugely let them off the hook.
03:51 This should have been Dortmund's title a year ago, so Bayern should already have lost this title-winning run.
03:56 What I find interesting is that Bayern talk about it being a horror show, "rock bottom" is what they talk about.
04:02 And if "rock bottom" for your team is being second in the Bundesliga, and still doing well in the Champions League,
04:08 that shows a little bit about exactly what kind of stature FC Bayern have in German football.
04:13 This is a team who are built to win, they must win everything, almost.
04:18 So to have a season without a title, it's just a complete disaster for them.
04:22 Well, the manner of this success has made Xabi Alonso one of the most desired managers in world football.
04:29 But despite some big managerial vacancies available this summer, including in Munich and in Liverpool,
04:36 Alonso has formally announced that he will stay put in Leverkusen for at least another season.
04:41 The question is, is that the right decision?
04:44 Yeah, I believe so. I think when you look at the reputation of the two clubs who are mainly interested in him in Liverpool and Bayern Munich,
04:55 they have such a stature, especially in the Champions League.
04:59 And I'm not saying no coach can make a jump from a club like where Alonso is right now to a Bayern Munich or a Liverpool,
05:08 but the kind of pressures, especially in the Champions League, if you've never played Champions League football before, is quite demanding.
05:17 Bayern Munich would have been probably an easier step in that regard, and he knows the league now.
05:22 But that step into these clubs, demanding something in the Champions League in your first season, your second season as senior coach, is probably just not very sensible.
05:34 And it's a risk that Xavi Alonso especially doesn't have to take.
05:39 Yes, a fantastic achievement for Bayer Leverkusen, as they will be crowned champions of Germany for the first ever time in their history.
05:48 That's all we have time for this week from our studio here in Doha.
05:52 Do let us know your thoughts using the hashtag #FootballNowLeverkusen, and we'll see you next time. Bye for now.
05:58 [Music]