Euro fever in Leverkusen!
There hasn’t been such euphoria around the factory club for years. The biggest winning streak in 21 years with seven competitive wins in a row has changed everything under the Bayer Cross. That Bayer 04 when coach Xabi Alonso (41) took office in early October 2022 in 17th place in the Bundesliga stood is far from forgotten.
But now Leverkusen is hoping for their first entry into a European semi-final since 2002, when Bayer even reached the final of the Champions League (1:2 against Real Madrid in Glasgow).
Thousands of fans followed the call to the bus reception
How excited we are for the first leg in the quarter-finals of the Europa League against Belgium representative Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (Thursday, 9 p.m./live RTL), was already visible around the BayArena almost two hours before kick-off: “Nord Curve 12” had called on all Bayer fans to report from 7 p.m on Bismarckstrasse to give the team bus a fitting reception.
The players were welcomed by several thousand fans with songs and pyrotechnics, after which the supporters marched towards the stadium.
“The home game is the key to progressing, I hope the fans will give us strong support. I know that you can rely on them and that they will create a good mood,” said top scorer Moussa Diaby (23) on club TV.
Diaby: “Reaching the first semi-final after 2002 is an additional motivation for us. We know it won’t be easy, but we’re doing everything we can to get through to the next round.”
Coach Xabi Alonso (41), on the other hand, warns against big dreams: “It would be stupid to talk about the final now, because we still have a lot of work to do. But we want to continue riding this positive wave for as long as possible. I see my team’s desire and hunger to go far. Bayer 04 last reached the semi-finals internationally in 2002, and now we have the opportunity to do so again. Our motivation could not be greater.”
And neither did the fans after the catastrophic start to the season.
