Bayer Leverkusen’s two steps from soccer immortality start in Europa League final against Atalanta

Two more games, and Bayer Leverkusen will play in European soccer history.

The newly crowned German champion will play two cup finals in four days.

beginning on Wednesday in the Europa League against Atalanta,

to cap off an unprecedented undefeated domestic and continental campaign.

Leverkusen is a strong favorite to win the German Cup final on Saturday against Kaiserslautern.

a team that placed 13th in the second division and was on the verge of relegation playoffs.

The greatest task now facing coach Xabi Alonso’s squad is to win game 52 of 53, which is against a good Atalanta club, in Dublin.

It seems appropriate given that Leverkusen has had frequent drama in the Europa League.

The squad trailed 2-0 twice in the second half of its six elimination phase games going into stoppage time.

once in the round of 16 match against Qarabag and once in the semifinal return leg against Roma.

In a crucial Europa League quarterfinal match against West Ham,

Leverkusen was expected to win on aggregate, but winger Jeremie Frimpong’s strike in the 89th minute kept them undefeated.

“We would like to make it clear, really, earlier,” said Patrick Schick.

whose three stoppage-time goals against Qarabag in March were crucial to the team’s 5-4 aggregate victory.

“We don’t want to wait until the last seconds of the game,” Schick said, referring to other elite soccer teams in Europe who,

unlike Leverkusen, who play in the lower-tier Europa League,

added the elite Champions League to their domestic league title.

Nevertheless, wealthy clubs, whose success could have been expected,

like Manchester United in 1999, Inter Milan in 2010, and Barcelona in 2011.

and Manchester City last year were all established.

star-packed teams led by coaches — Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, and Pep Guardiola — who

had already won multiple domestic and European trophies.

Alonso is coaching at the highest level for the first time this season.

Last season, his squad was in danger of being relegated. In the offseason, no superstar transfer was signed.

Last week, the 42-year-old Alonso declared, “For me, it’s very special.” “The Bundesliga was my first coaching championship.

It was amazing and very unique. However, having a title in Europe would be amazing, and maybe we can say that.

The June 1 Champions League final at Wembley Stadium will pit Real Madrid against Borussia Dortmund.

the team that defeated Madrid in the 2021 Super League breakaway,

with Madrid driving the effort and Dortmund turning down the invitation.

Bayern Leverkusen and Atalanta, on the other hand,

were not even close to being invited to the breakaway three years ago and

now represent soccer projects that have gained respect from neutral fans across Europe.

Alonso won the Champions League twice as an elegant midfielder, first with Liverpool and then with Real Madrid.

Both have surprising peaks and are rooted in regional cities.

They have both been around for more than a century.

They had only previously won three trophies prior to this season:

the 1963 Italian Cup won by Atalanta, the 1988 UEFA Cup (the precursor to the Europa League) won by Leverkusen,

and the 1993 Germany Cup.

Even though Atalanta was just minutes away from making it to the

semifinals in 2020 and Leverkusen once lost a Champions League final to Madrid in 2002.

neither team has felt deserving of victory in Europe.

The total capacity of their tiny stadiums in Leverkusen and Bergamo is approximately 51,000.

which could fit into the Dublin venue that will host them on Wednesday.

The venue was originally known as Lansdowne Road. The official cap for a highlight European final is 48,000.

UEFA’s research on the top-50 earnings list of European teams for total matchday

revenue from ticket and hospitality sales does not include Leverkusen or Atalanta.

The combined total earnings of the two well-managed teams,

who depend on shrewd transfer deals and are supported, respectively,

by Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca and pharmaceutical behemoth Bayer,

came to about $500 million last year, which is around the same amount as Manchester City’s player salary bill.

But since 2016, both Leverkusen and Atalanta have been coached by Gian Piero Gasperini.

and they both play team-first defense and easy-to-watch soccer.

When speaking of Atalanta, Schick stated, “They play one against one on the whole pitch.

“”You have one defender behind you wherever you go to make sure they don’t give you room to breathe.”

Under Gasperini, Atalanta has been a breath of fresh air.

and they have already secured a spot in the Champions League for the upcoming year.

They would be well-liked as first-time European title winners in any other year.

But Leverkusen’s actions are abnormal, and legends might be born in a matter of days.

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