Defeated by Atalanta (3-0), last Wednesday, in the Europa League final, the Bayer Leverkusen hopes to lift the German Cup this Saturday, in the final against Kaiserlautern (from the 2nd division), to end its historic season with the national ‘double crown’.
In April, Leverkusen won the Bundesliga in advance and won their first tournament title. The team remained unbeaten in all competitions this season until their defeat to Atalanta, ending their impressive 51-game unbeaten run.
“It wasn’t our day, we have to accept that. In theory, the first defeat of the season happens much earlier. It came for us in an important game and it hurts”, acknowledged Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso. “The team didn’t perform at its best level and neither did I,” he said.
“If we can no longer win the treble, then we will end the double,” Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka said on Wednesday, pointing to the World Cup final as his goal.
⚫️🔴 #GermanChampionSVB ⚫️🔴 pic.twitter.com/YeC1s6gvGw
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04fussball) May 25, 2024
The ‘Werkself’ (factory eleven, nickname of the club founded in 1904 by the chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer) traveled from Dublin, where they lost the Europa League final, to Berlin, the stage for the ‘DFB Pokal’ final.
The duel against Kaiserlautern appears as the perfect opportunity to lift spirits after the disappointment in Ireland.
‘Lautern’ is a traditional club that is facing difficulties. Four-time German champion (1951, 1953, 1991 and 1998) and two-time winner of the German Cup (1990 and 1996), he spent just two seasons in the first division since 2006 and even visited the 3rd division.
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Kaiserlautern recently secured their place in the second division in the final stretch, for the 33rd and penultimate round of the championship. And now the opportunity arises to play in the Europa League next season if they win this Saturday’s final.
“It looks very good, but it will be very difficult. We know we have a small chance, we will do everything possible to make it come true,” explained Kaiserlautern coach Friedhelm Funkel in an interview with German sports press agency SID, a subsidiary from AFP.
It is the first time since 2011 that a second division club has reached the German Cup final. In the previous round, Leverkusen had been the only top club among the semi-finalists, something that had never happened before.
In Leverkusen’s goal, Matej Kovar should start, just as he did on Wednesday in the Europa League final, in place of the usual starter Lukas Hradecky.
Bayer Leverkusen aspires to be the sixth club to win the German Cup/Bundesliga double in the same season, after Schalke 04, Bayern Munich, Cologne, Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund.
Schalke achieved the feat in 1937, Cologne in 1978, Werder in 2004 and Dortmund in 2012. Bayern is the only one to have achieved it on more than one occasion, thirteen specifically, the last of them in 2020.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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