BVB managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke has had “three really shitty days” after the drama in the Bundesliga championship final. “I’m slowly getting over it,” said Watzke on Wednesday evening on “RTL” on the sidelines of the Europa League final in Budapest. “We will definitely attack next year.”
community Join the discussion about BVBThis way! BVB gambled away the championship on Saturday with a 2-2 win over 1. FSV Mainz 05, while FC Bayern overtook them after beating 1. FC Köln 2-1. “I didn’t cry, but I saw a lot of people crying around me,” said Watzke, who sits on the Executive Committee of European Football Union UEFA. “I’m more likely to cry at a feature film.”
FC Bayern is advancing: Europe’s longest championship streak
The chairman of the BVB management announced only moderate changes to the Dortmund squad. “We’ll try to supplement that,” said the 63-year-old. “One or the other may leave us, we have to solve that well.” Above all, the impending farewell to Jude Bellingham (19) – presumably to Real Madrid – should carry weight. But a major upheaval would be wrong. “We would be stupid in the second half of the season,” said Watzke, looking at the predominantly strong performances of the past few weeks.
BVB as the new “Vizekusen”? Kehl: “That’s nonsense”
According to BVB sports director Sebastian Kehl, the Bundesliga championship is within reach in the future. “The chance will come again. Definitely,” said the 43-year-oldPicture“. “We have shown that we are close. But the last step was missing.” Dortmund’s misfortune to win the title brought back memories of Bayer Leverkusen’s bitter experiences at the beginning of the millennium. At that time, the Bundesliga competitor was just behind in several cup competitions and the championship – and thus earned the nickname “Vizekusen”.
The 9 titles missed by Bayer 04 “Vizekusen” since 1993
1993 – DFB Cup victory! The last title for Bayer 04
After Leverkusen won the UEFA Cup in 1988, the first and only national title in Germany followed in 1993 with the DFB Cup. Back then, the Werkself beat the second team from Hertha BSC in the final with Ulf Kirsten, Christian Wörns and Co. Go to the match report with the line-ups from 1993
1997 – Second place in the Bundesliga for the first time
“Vizekusen” Chapter 1: Second place after the 1996/97 season was actually Bayer’s greatest success in the Bundesliga up to that point. In view of FC Bayern’s narrow lead and the bitter, decisive 4-0 defeat against Cologne on the penultimate matchday, it was still annoying for the factory club. Leverkusen’s 1996/97 season
For the second time – and again under coach Christoph Daum – the runner-up title went to Bayer Leverkusen in 1999. This time, however, the deficit to FC Bayern was appropriate. On the last day of the game, the champions, who had been crowned champions for a long time, pulled away to 15 points with a 2:1 in a direct duel. Bayer vs. Bayern: To the match report from 1999
2000 – Championship gambled away on the last matchday
A year later, Bayer experienced the third runner-up title. Again the champion was FC Bayern, but never before was it so close and so annoying for Leverkusen. Because of a 0:2 defeat at Unterhaching, the championship went to Munich at the last moment. Leverkusen’s 1999/2000 season
With the 2001/02 season, the next vice title was not long in coming. Only the master was different. In the end, Borussia Dortmund had the upper hand because Leverkusen again gambled away the triumph shortly before the end. A 0:1 on the penultimate match day in Nürnberg was the broken neck. Leverkusen’s 2001/02 season
After missing the championship, the 2002 DFB Cup final was also lost. After champions Dortmund, it was cup winners Schalke who gave the Werkself a trick. The royal blues won the cup 4:2. Leverkusen’s cup history with all decisive games
And then the Champions League. Bayer 04 held up well against Real Madrid in the final, but in the end had to go home with the triple of runners-up in the championship, runner-up in the cup and vice-UEFA champion. The “eternal second” Bayer 04 becomes “Vizekusen”. Line-ups and goal scorers from the CL final against Real
2009 – Özil prevents Leverkusen’s cup winners’ comeback
In the 2009 DFB Cup final, Leverkusen’s seventh runner-up, Mesut Özil was the spoilsport. Werder Bremen’s 1-0 win brought Leverkusen back their glory. Cup final 2009: The match report
From then on, until today, Leverkusen have only won one runner-up spot in the Bundesliga. BVB won the race again in the 2010/11 season. With a 1-0 win in Freiburg, Bayer 04 said goodbye to a runners-up season in which they weren’t even top of the table, but in the end they duly celebrated their place in the Champions League. To the Leverkusen squad from 2010/11
Even under coach Peter Bosz, the finals in which Leverkusen participate are won by the others: on July 4, 2020, record winners FC Bayern scored 4-2 in the ghost final in Berlin.
Kehl made it clear that he was not worried that Dortmund would become a new “Vizekusen”. “That’s nonsense, I don’t believe in it at all! Our path is the right one: We scored 46 points in the 2023 calendar year, 40 in the second half of the season.” In addition, nobody in the top 5 leagues in Europe scored more goals during this period, and there was only one defeat. “All these are actually values of a master. Unfortunately, the back series was our big problem,” said Kehl, who also emphasized: “We want to attack again.”
With a view to Bellingham, Kehl expects “that there will now be movement in personnel. We know that the player is of great value to us, that he has an ongoing contract with no release clause. Everything else will be revealed in the near future. We are preparing for different scenarios!”
Meanwhile, Raphaël Guerreiro (29) has decided against an offer from BVB. “We made Rapha an economically enhanced two-year plus option offer. Discussions were always fair and correct. We would have liked to keep him, but in the end we didn’t get together. Again we have a clear plan, a direction, because Rapha is turning 30 and wanted a longer contract,” said Kehl.
