Pitch invasion at Bayer

[cambridgeshire canary 6,749]

4-0, it's only the 83rd minute.. They think it's all over!

[TIL 1010 4,760]

It is now.

[GodlyOtsemobor 2,333]

Harry Kane is cursed 🤣🤣

[Yobocop 1,099]

Never been to Leverkusen been Dortmund a number of times and a friend I know over there is gutted Leverkusen have won it particularly after Dortmund went so close last season 

I’m pleased to see someone different win it 

[Herman 9,788]

 

[GenerationA47 756]

Good old Land of Hope & Glory -  patriotic Englishmen of Leverkusen

[A Load of Squit 5,183]

Xabi Alonso will never have to buy a beer in Leverkusen.

Not a bad achievement for a works team.

 

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,822]

Always good to see a different team win the title and break the streak of the dominant force.

Apparently one of the key factors in Alonso agreeing to stay on next season was the promise that no key players would be sold, so it will be interesting to see how the title defence goes. History has shown that teams who unexpectedly win, or come close to winning, the league generally find it extremely tough to replicate, but this Leverkusen side does look pretty well equipped to have a good go.

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,421]

40 minutes ago, Herman said:

 

Say what you like about those efficient Germans, but they do know how to generate an atmosphere.

[Mengo 825]

1 hour ago, GodlyOtsemobor said:

Harry Kane is cursed 🤣🤣

Poor old Harry ,he can't buy a team that wins things .no luck and a great player.

[Midlands Yellow 4,009]

Neat little stadium too, not much bigger than Carrow Road. 

[TheGunnShow 5,948]

Leverkusen will get the plaudits as a sensation this season, but little Heidenheim deserve a big shout-out as well. No-one expected them to stay up but they're looking like they're going to finish in mid-table in their first ever season in the Bundesliga.

They even beat Bayern 3-2 at home after being 0-2 down at half-time.

[Spillay 180]

1 hour ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

Always good to see a different team win the title and break the streak of the dominant force.

Apparently one of the key factors in Alonso agreeing to stay on next season was the promise that no key players would be sold, so it will be interesting to see how the title defence goes. History has shown that teams who unexpectedly win, or come close to winning, the league generally find it extremely tough to replicate, but this Leverkusen side does look pretty well equipped to have a good go.

This. Napoli were superb last season in winning Serie A.. this year nowhere near it

[Commonsense 627]

7 minutes ago, Spillay said:

This. Napoli were superb last season in winning Serie A.. this year nowhere near it

The manager left though, so it’s very different to what Alonso is building at Leverkusen.

[Commonsense 627]

1 hour ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

Always good to see a different team win the title and break the streak of the dominant force.

Apparently one of the key factors in Alonso agreeing to stay on next season was the promise that no key players would be sold, so it will be interesting to see how the title defence goes. History has shown that teams who unexpectedly win, or come close to winning, the league generally find it extremely tough to replicate, but this Leverkusen side does look pretty well equipped to have a good go.

This is rather different though. Leverkusen haven’t come from nowhere, they’ve been around the top spot for years, finishing second on more than one occasion-it’s just that they never won it, hence the nickname Neverkusen. 

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,822]

25 minutes ago, Commonsense said:

The manager left though, so it’s very different to what Alonso is building at Leverkusen.

Even if Spalletti had stayed, they wouldn't have replicated it. The official reason for him leaving was a petty disagreement with the president, which was undoubtedly a factor as they're both stubborn old men, but I believe that Spalletti knew deep down that he couldn't repeat the feat and it was always going to be an impossible job this season for whoever took over, as it has proved. They're already on their third coach of the season and they'll change again in the summer.

 

22 minutes ago, Commonsense said:

This is rather different though. Leverkusen haven’t come from nowhere, they’ve been around the top spot for years, finishing second on more than one occasion-it’s just that they never won it, hence the nickname Neverkusen. 

Obviously it's not like a Leicester or a Kaiserslautern, and not even a Montpellier or a Stuttgart. But they had never won the Bundesliga before despite being there or thereabouts a few times over the past two or three decades, so the comparison with Napoli is probably the best one.

I can't see Leverkusen struggling the way Napoli have though; they seem to have more stability about them.

[TheGunnShow 5,948]

11 hours ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

Even if Spalletti had stayed, they wouldn't have replicated it. The official reason for him leaving was a petty disagreement with the president, which was undoubtedly a factor as they're both stubborn old men, but I believe that Spalletti knew deep down that he couldn't repeat the feat and it was always going to be an impossible job this season for whoever took over, as it has proved. They're already on their third coach of the season and they'll change again in the summer.

 

Obviously it's not like a Leicester or a Kaiserslautern, and not even a Montpellier or a Stuttgart. But they had never won the Bundesliga before despite being there or thereabouts a few times over the past two or three decades, so the comparison with Napoli is probably the best one.

I can't see Leverkusen struggling the way Napoli have though; they seem to have more stability about them.

I'd actually say IFK Mariehamn in Finland may be a better comparison. They won the 2016 Finnish league, but haven't been anywhere near since.

[Midlands Yellow 4,009]

8 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said:

I'd actually say IFK Mariehamn in Finland may be a better comparison. They won the 2016 Finnish league, but haven't been anywhere near since.

Don’t forget Verona in 84/85.

[cambridgeshire canary 6,749]

12 hours ago, Commonsense said:

This is rather different though. Leverkusen haven’t come from nowhere, they’ve been around the top spot for years, finishing second on more than one occasion-it’s just that they never won it, hence the nickname Neverkusen. 

Indeed. It's still a very big win but it's not exactly a leicester

 

Nevermind that Bayer are of course backed by, well, the Bayer company who are worth 20 billion+. Even added the companys name to their team name which yeah, strange how RB Lepzig gets tons of hate for it but Bayer seems to have been let off

Edited April 15 by cambridgeshire canary

[TheGunnShow 5,948]

1 minute ago, Midlands Yellow said:

Don’t forget Verona in 84/85.

Yep, that's an even better shout, come to think of it. They'd slowly built their way up under Osvaldo Bagnoli (who I think was in the dugout for Inter Milan against us) and had some real class in their ranks with Preben Elkjaer and Hans-Peter Briegel.

[Canarywary 110]

15 hours ago, A Load of Squit said:

Not a bad achievement for a works team.

 

They're the Total Network Solutions of Germany.

*edit - I've just read that TNS was purely a sponsorship thing, so my joke fails*

Edited April 15 by Canarywary

[Canarywary 110]

57 minutes ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

Nevermind that Bayer are of course backed by, well, the Bayer company who are worth 20 billion+. Even added the companys name to their team name which yeah, strange how RB Lepzig gets tons of hate for it but Bayer seems to have been let off

I think that's probably because a) a fair few people outside of Germany probably don't know that about Bayer and b) RB seemed to go on a total sporting blitz and buy multiple teams across different sports, in a short time spell, which I think feels a lot more in your face. They even owned 2 of the 11 or so F1 teams at one point (maybe still do, I'm not sure).

Any other company teams out there doing well? PSV is/was a Philips team. Vauxhall Motors...

[A Load of Squit 5,183]

1 hour ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

Indeed. It's still a very big win but it's not exactly a leicester

 

Nevermind that Bayer are of course backed by, well, the Bayer company who are worth 20 billion+. Even added the companys name to their team name which yeah, strange how RB Lepzig gets tons of hate for it but Bayer seems to have been let off

The difference is that Leipzig wanted to get rid of the 50+1 rule which would've changed the Bundesliga in favour of rich owners.

50+1 means the fans still have a say in the way clubs are run and it makes the protests like we saw earlier this season have more of an impact.

[TheBaldOne66 693]

17 hours ago, Yobocop said:

Never been to Leverkusen been Dortmund a number of times and a friend I know over there is gutted Leverkusen have won it particularly after Dortmund went so close last season 

I’m pleased to see someone different win it 

Watched Germany play Moldova in a World Cup qualifier there back in the 90s, ground only had 3 stands and a grass embankment behind one of the goals, I’m sure it’s a lot different now though 🤣🤣🤣

[TheBaldOne66 693]

2 hours ago, Midlands Yellow said:

Don’t forget Verona in 84/85.

Leicester City are the best example surely? Making a hash of promotion as we all know this season 🤣🤣🤣

[Yobocop 1,099]

7 hours ago, TheBaldOne66 said:

Watched Germany play Moldova in a World Cup qualifier there back in the 90s, ground only had 3 stands and a grass embankment behind one of the goals, I’m sure it’s a lot different now though 🤣🤣🤣

Pretty sure that’s the old stadium which is in front of the new one - they’ve kept it 

[TheBaldOne66 693]

On 15/04/2024 at 19:27, Yobocop said:

Pretty sure that’s the old stadium which is in front of the new one - they’ve kept it 

Ah right, thanks for the update

[Mr Angry 1,566]

I’m surprised nobody has mentioned Bayer’s involvement in the Holocaust to be honest.