Xabi Alonso’s incredible reign as Bayer Leverkusen manager continued by winning the German Super Cup.
Alonso’s side claimed a penalty shootout victory over Stuttgart on Saturday night to win the trophy.
Victory in the German Super Cup means the Spaniard has now won three trophies in just 13 months.
For context, Bayer Leverkusen have only ever won five trophies in their history, meaning that Alonso is already responsible for more than half of their silverware.
Victor Boniface put Leverkusen ahead, before a red card to Martin Terrier after 37 minutes put them under the cosh.
Stuttgart fought back to go 2-1 up, however Patrik Schick sent the match to penalties with a late equaliser for Alonso’s 10-man side, before winning the shootout 4-3.
Alonso enjoyed a glorious season last term in which they won the DFB-Pokal – the German Cup – and the Bundesliga title.
Leverkusen won the league title by an incredible 17 points, ending Bayern Munich’s 11-year dominance in the Bundesliga and denying Harry Kane his first-ever league title.
The German Super Cup success means that Alonso has now essentially completed German football.
It also means that Bayer Leverkusen have extended their stunning unbeaten run to 53 games in German football.
That run stretches back all the way to May 2023 and is only disrupted by their defeat in last season’s Europa League final where they lost 3-0 to Atalanta.
That result stopped Leverkusen from completing a perfect unbeaten season in 2023/24 across 53 games, domestically and in Europe.
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Speaking after the Super Cup success, Alonso said: “What we did at the end of the game with 10 players and scoring the late equaliser, we showed once again how big our spirit is.
“I’m really happy that we have started the season like this. After the red card, the game was different.
“Even though we went 2-1 down in the second half, we were patient and planned to only go full throttle and press for the last 15 minutes. We did that brilliantly, the team was great.”
Stuttgart striker Deniz Undav, who was named man of the match, it was disappointment. “I’m very frustrated. First of all, thanks to the fans who voted for me as player of the match, but I’m very frustrated.
“We had the chance to win the game, but out of nowhere we make small mistakes against Leverkusen and they score. And the penalty shootout is then pure luck. We also practised penalty shootouts this week and that was good, but it didn’t work. When you’re 2-1 up and you’re one man up, you have to win.”
As a result of his success, Alonso was heavily linked with a number of big jobs around Europe.
Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were among the clubs linked, while the former midfielder was heavily targeted by Liverpool as they looked for a replacement for Jurgen Klopp.
But after committing his future to Leverkusen, Liverpool instead opted to appoint Arne Slot.
Bayer Leverkusen will now turn their attention to retaining the Bundesliga title and get their campaign underway on Friday night against Monchengladbach.
