It’s a long way from Sydney to Leipzig but none the less an enjoyable experience at the Red Bull Arena for the match v Wolfsburg yesterday.
Tour of the City (loved that monument of the Battle) then the walk with all the supporters to the ground. Good atmosphere and mood, safe and plenty of beer. I thought Wolfsburg were a bit unlucky, Arnold is clever, and Olmo’s goal well taken.
I was under the impression that supporters don’t mix pre and post game. But there were plenty of green shirts and no violence. Maybe my naivety that supporters just punch on in Europe. A bit like many Germans saying to me that they will never come to Australia because of snakes and spiders. It ain’t that bad.
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The vast majority of fans intermingle without any problems. It’s just the tiny minority who ruin it for everyone and tarnish football’s reputation.
I have been to matches in France, Spain and Italy and continental Europeans are far more civilised on match day than their British counterparts, with the exception of the “Ultra” elements.
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I’m off to the Barca PSG match on Tuesday. Will be interesting to compare when the French come to town.
Tbf though, Red Bulk vs Volkswagen might not be the perfect example to get an accurate feel for German fan culture.
Get off the pitch ye scruffs
4-0 up so now just 4 mins to the title
Fantastic. Congrats to Xabi.
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A brilliant, brilliant achievement from my all-time preferred LFC player. Well done Xabi, you’re the top man!
Especially with this club, and its perennial loser-mentality, it can’t be understated how incredible this is!
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Congratulations Xabi Alonso. You broke Bayern Munich’s stranglehold on the Bundesliga.
Congratulations to Bayer Leverkusen supporters, you have a rare diamond of a manager there. Hold on to him as long as you can, he won’t be there forever. 
Xabi,
Please do come to Liverpool and manage our club in the near future, preferably before I get senile or pass away. Thanks. Y.N.W.A
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Leverkusen winning their 1st league title is a remarkable achievement…like when Leicester won the Prem, like any club when they win their first league title.
But the manner in which they’ve done it is what stands out…this is how history is made. Running rough shot over every team in the league and twice over. You can only understand how difficult that is if you’ve experienced it.
& they’ll probably end the season unbeaten with a treble.
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Apparently they’re renaming the approach to the stadium Xabi Alonso Allee.
Trophies/Titles Leverkusen has won:
UEFA Cup 1987-88
DFB Pokal: 1992-92
Bundesliga: 2023-24
Xabi Alonso
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Kingsley Coman, the streak is over.
Pretty staggering that they were able to mathematically secure it this early. Usually when a dark horse wins it is a fairly close affair - Leicester were comfortable, but did not actually secure it until they had just one match left.
Also, while the point has been made it’s worth doing so again, they haven’t won because the top powers failed and snuck in. They are on record pace
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I’m convinced that Xabi is the next big manager in line. Ancelotti-style, although he has already surpassed what Ancelotti has done, not in terms of number of trophies of course, but in terms of leading an underdog to glory in such an impressive manner. In that regard, he is more a new Klopp than a new Ancelotti. But he’ll go on to win numerous trophies in his career, probably a lot more than Klopp.
As Limiescouse says, it’s not even that others have underperformed, it’s just that Xabi has transformed this squad into a ruthless winning machine, far stronger than Bayern have ever been since years. Within 18 months!
I’m also glad for Xhaka, who was Xabi’s big transfer coup last summer in order to make him his lynchpin in midfield. It has worked extraordinarily well. Xhaka played almost every minute of every game this season, and has been instrumental in everything Leverkusen have done. This has been Xhaka’s best season of his career so far, he has been brilliant. But other players have really come far, and I’m curious whether Leverkusen will manage to keep this team together, with all the big dogs lurking around and trying to unsettle the young talented players.
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