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Every year, football fans all around the world think they’ve seen the most unique games, score lines and transfers. However, this year proved us all wrong by reminding us that football is in fact unpredictable and unprecedented. In fact, this time around, some teams just decided that it was time for a change.

When we look at the tables of the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga, we notice a remarkable change in the rankings. With Aston Villa challenging the famous top six, Bayer Leverkusen going unbeaten, Bologna revolutionising defence, and Girona going toe to toe against the top Spanish teams, the season has had a lot to offer.

At first glance, the current results may leave us surprised, but the process that brought these teams to where they are now is nothing short of impressive. As each team had masterminds behind their respective squads, we found that these clubs share the same values: patience, organisation and persistence. These same values have helped them flourish on the European football stage, cementing themselves as challengers, contenders, and champions.

A Breath of Fresh Air 

Who would’ve thought that Bayer Leverkusen, a team that was battling relegation not so long ago, would now challenge for a treble, all while going unbeaten ? This was the outcome of Xabi Alonso’s tactical revolution.

For the 45 years that it has been in the Bundesliga, Leverkusen had never experienced the taste of victory in Germany, as they have been runners up for the title on 5 different occasions.

Just last year, Leverkusen were occupying the 17th place of the Bundesliga. The team needed a change in the dressing room, and it took a gamble on Xabi Alonso. As a player, Alonso distinguished himself as one of the best midfielders of his time, nearly winning every trophy there is with Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

However, as a manager, Alonso was yet to coach a first team, having previously led the Real Sociedad B and Real Madrid youth teams. Moreover, the transition from player to manager did not prove to be beneficial for all, as Rooney, Lampard, Vieira or even Gerrard did not experience any massive success.

When asked about Alonso’s appointment, Simon Rolfes, Leverkusen’s director of football, replied: “It is always important to consider the quality of the head coach, and I just knew that he had what it takes to improve the team.”

What propelled Leverkusen at the top of the Bundesliga is undoubtedly Xabi Alonso’s philosophy: every player should understand their role and be consistently aware of the different situations occurring during the game. This specific tactic made Leverkusen the unit it is today, a group moving fluidly and vividly.

The recruiting prior to this season has also proven to be a huge success for Alonso. Although Leverkusen lost many important players, they have found just the right players to fit Alonso’s style of play, such as Alex Grimaldo, Granit Xhaka, Victor Boniface and Jonas Hofmann, with all of them exceeding expectations.

Even though Alonso’s men faced better opposition such as Bayern Munich, they managed to beat them 3-0 at home. This game summed up their season, showing that great tactics and hard work can indeed beat an opponent with better players on paper.

It is also worth noting that Florian Wirtz, Leverkusen’s young star, came back from injury at the start of the season and has been outstanding, displaying world class performances every week.

Unstoppable, Unplayable, Unbeatable 

Up until now, Bayer Leverkusen are the only team in Europe to remain unbeaten. After winning the Bundesliga with 5 games left, Alonso has his eyes set on the treble, as Leverkusen are still in the Europa League and will compete in the final of the DFB-Pokal on the 25th of May against Kaiserslautern.

Previously nicknamed “Neverkusen” after losing the Champions League final, the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal in 2002, it looks like Xabi Alonso is conducting a revolution to create a new powerhouse in Germany, one big enough to finally compete with the Bavarian side.

However, Leverkusen did display at times some shaky performances during the season. Nonetheless, every time they were trailing with few minutes to go, they always salvaged a goal to grab a point and stay unbeaten. Throughout this season, the German side scored 15 goals after the end of regular time to keep the streak going.

Given this outstanding run by Xabi Alonso and his players, the question arises: Will they sustain this success ? Only time will tell if Leverkusen’s transformation is a lasting rebellion or a fleeting moment in football history.