Gone with "Vizekusen"

Xabi remains focused: “Still a bit to do”

Xabi Alonso remains cool and focused.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)

A very special 28 hours lifted Bayer Leverkusen to cloud nine over the Easter weekend. From coach Xabi Alonso's declaration of loyalty to the last-minute win against Hoffenheim to the Bayern defeat against Dortmund, it was all there.

On Friday, successful coach Xabi Alonso announced that he would be staying at Bayer. This was followed by an emotional 2:1 win over TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday afternoon, before Bayern Munich lost 2:0 to Borussia Dortmund in the evening. The first championship title in the German Bundesliga is now out of reach for the club long derided as runners-up.

"There's still a bit to do," said Alonso on the question of the championship. However, losing the championship after all seems only theoretically possible - especially with a team that has been unbeatable in 39 competitive matches this season. In the Bundesliga, Bayer have only dropped eight points in 27 games. Then there is the last-minute factor, such as against Hoffenheim, when Robert Andrich equalized in the 88th minute and Patrick Schick scored the winner in the 91st minute. Late Leverkusen goals led to seven more points in the league.

Championship celebrations in April?
With seven games remaining, Bayer travel to 1. FC Union Berlin next weekend with a 13-point lead, and if everything goes to plan from Leverkusen's point of view, the title could be clinched a week later before the game against Werder Bremen. "It's one game down again, so the situation is a bit better," said Alonso dryly after the win against Hoffenheim.

The Spaniard is in the process of turning Leverkusen into a success story and had become the preferred candidate at Bayern Munich and Liverpool. The players and fans were accordingly delighted with the declaration of loyalty. "Thank you Xabi" scarves were sold at the entrances and numerous posters with the coach's name and heart were displayed in the stands. The coach was celebrated extra loudly when the line-up was announced. Andrich reported that Alonso "told us very dryly that he wasn't going anywhere. We were delighted. Now we've got a catch: he's staying for another season. Now we want to achieve a lot more together."