Bayer 04 Leverkusen don’t recognize themselves. Almost nothing works in the front, but neither does the rear. The Werkself are chasing their own claims.
In the past it would probably have gone like this: After Bayer 04 Leverkusen lost again against FC Augsburg (1:2), Rudi Völler would have appeared in public after the final whistle. Völler would have tried to find explanations and might have been (artificially) upset about the supposedly cheeky questions. And he would have ended this conversation forgivingly with a wink and an inevitable smile.
In his own way, Völler would have suggested to the fans that everything was actually fine under the Bayer Cross. And then would have sorted things out internally. Because the third bankruptcy in a row (in the DFB Cup at third division Elversberg, in the first Bundesliga game in Dortmund) meanwhile marks a massive false start for the Werkself – and possibly even the beginning of a crisis. A season for Leverkusen last started in 1979 with three competitive defeats in a row.
Club boss Carro scolds
The club should actually steer against it. Völler has been in well-deserved retirement since this season. And who will take his position, that does not appear to have been fully clarified in the newly created management structure.
Nothing was heard from sports director Simon Rolfes or club boss Fernando Carro after the Augsburg game. Well, that’s not quite right. In the stadium catacombs, Carro let his anger run free shortly after the final whistle. “What a shitty start. We had a thousand chances to score”, he scolded loudly. before he disappeared.
The fact is: The factory club, which was highly regarded before the season and which some experts even named as the secret favorite for the title, is currently on the wrong track. “That’s not our claim. That’s not what we imagined”, defender Jonathan Tah summed it up. And that despite almost ideal conditions.
A well-established team
Because the club had managed to keep offensive top performers like Patrik Schick and Moussa Diaby and all the other players that should be kept. There are also hopeful professionals like Sardar Azmoun and Adam Hlozek. The same applies to all of them: they have scored zero goals and provided zero assists in the Bundesliga so far.
Things are not going well in this well-established team, which qualified for the Champions League last season. Leverkusen have fired 50 (!) shots on goal in the past three games, 23 against FCA alone. Only four hits jumped out. And three of them in Elversberg.
The reasons? Lack of concentration at the end, or even arrogance? Or on the contrary, too little self-confidence and fear of failure? Questions that coach Gerardo Seoane should answer as quickly as possible. “The lack of opportunity evaluation is difficult to explain, but that’s part of football”says the 43-year-old.
Leverkusen wobbles
The apparently clueless Swiss was able to start the season stronger, having put the Werkself on the road to success last season. In the meantime, however, his team is not only faltering on the offensive. Seven goals in three competitive games are not acceptable for a top team – and lead his team into a dead end.
The shoe is currently pinching in all corners. The pressure on Seoane is increasing. A first sense of achievement not only with a view to the upcoming one Champions Leagueseason at the beginning of September would be urgently needed for Leverkusen. The Werkself welcome 1899 Hoffenheim next Saturday. “We expect more from ourselves”, Jonathan Tah had said. A sentence that Rudi Völler would probably have said in the same way.