None other than Xabi Alonso put an end to the nickname “Neverkusen” that once haunted Leverkusen. At the same time, details of how much it cost Leverkusen for Alonso to put an end to this nickname have been revealed.
Leverkusen was once sarcastically called “Neverkusen”. In the 2001/02 season, Leverkusen should have had a brilliant season but it turned into a disaster in just 10 days. Leverkusen then showed impressive performance and created a gap of 5 points with Dortmund when the Bundesliga only had 3 rounds left. In the German National Cup, they also defeated all opponents in their way to advance to the final. In the Champions League, Leverkusen defeated Liverpool and MU respectively to enter the final.
However, the nightmare fell on Leverkusen. In the Bundesliga, Leverkusen continuously lost points in 3 rounds, from 31 to 33, causing them to go from the leading position to being overtaken by Dortmund before round 34 took place. Dortmund then defeated Werder Bremen 2-1 to officially win the championship on May 4, 2002.
In the National Cup, Leverkusen was defeated by Schalke with a score of 4-2 despite being the opening team. Leverkusen also lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final. From the team that had the chance to create a historic treble, Leverkusen was completely empty-handed.
Also important to know, Leverkusen was founded in 1904 and has never won the Bundesliga championship title. Leverkusen won the title of National Championship runner-up in 1996/97, 1998/99, 1999/2000, 2001/02 and 2010/11.
One of the people who made history was Xabi Alonso. The Spanish coach brought Leverkusen an unprecedented Bundesliga championship title, after winning the championship with his students 5 rounds early in the 2023/24 season.
According to Bild newspaper, Xabi Alonso has an annual salary of 6 million euros at Leverkusen. Alonso arrived at Leverkusen in October 2022 and received a salary increase after his first season at the club. The Spanish teacher has 2 years left on his contract with the team that just won the Bundesliga championship this season.
