Bayer Leverkusen: From hope to disaster

Collapses of all kinds are not uncommon in football, but Bayer Leverkusen’s complete implosion since the Bundesliga’s winter break has been devastating for their European ambitions.

A narrow 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich on 19 December was Leverkusen’s first of the entire season, and saw them concede top spot to the reigning European champions.

Despite this small setback, Leverkusen headed into the winter break with genuine title ambitions still very much in the balance. However, a collapse of the largest magnitude has seen Leverkusen drop outside of the Champions League places, leaving them clinging on to a spot in the Europa League.

Their 0-0 draw against Hoffenheim last night was a true encapsulation of the lifeless shell that Leverkusen have now transformed into.

Gone was the excitement and zeal that saw Peter Bosz’s side dismantle Hoffenheim 4-1 at the BayArena – a result which took them to the top of the Bundesliga for the first time this season.

This performance offered a stark contrast. It was not just the tempo and rhythm that had drained from the side, but they were now under different management, with different ideas – and Leverkusen never quite looked comfortable throughout the whole 90 minutes.

Having taken over in December 2018, Bosz produced a miracle as he took Leverkusen from mid-table to securing the final Champions League place on the final day of the season.

Now, Bosz is out of a job after being relieved of his duties following a staggering 3-0 defeat to struggling Hertha Berlin. The result came in the midst of a run of just three wins in 14 games – his side in complete free-fall.

Maybe it was the right decision to make a change and try and salvage something from what has turned out to be a disastrous season. However, the appointment of an inexperienced coach in Hannes Wolf looks to be one of desperation as opposed to one of real thought.

A slim win over a dismal Schalke gave the former academy coach a winning start, but the performance against Hoffenheim identified all of Leverkusen’s flaws.

Players that had dazzled in the first-half of the season looked like shadows of their former selves, as Hoffenheim comfortably held off Leverkusen’s attack.

It has not just been league form that has curtailed for Die Werkself since the turn of the year however, as their DFB-Pokal and Europa League campaigns were both brought to a sudden stop.

A hugely embarrassing 2-1 defeat to fourth-tiered Rot-Weiss Essen was the low point for Bosz and his side, and it was compounded two weeks later when they were beaten in both legs by the Swiss side, Young Boys, as they were knocked out of the Europa League in the first knockout round.

Taking all of these setbacks into consideration, a complete rebuild is required in the summer, as Leverkusen try to reach the heights that they did in the first half of this campaign.

Ultimately, an ageing squad is at the core of everything, with many burning out after the winter break. A reset is needed in defence as 31 year-old Sven Bender will be retiring at the end of the season, and the midfield two of Exequiel Palacios and Charles Aranguiz will be a combined age of 64 next year.

With some of the old heads in the Leverkusen side not performing to their best standard, even more pressure has been heaped on the shoulders of their youth. Whilst Moussa Diaby sparkled in the first half of the season, the young Frenchman has struggled – his loss of confidence coinciding with the whole team’s.

Whilst the 17-year-old, Florian Wirtz has had a sublime season, he cannot be expected to carry the weight of this side at such a tender age. More is needed from Leverkusen’s experienced heads, and if they don’t step up to the marker then the downward spiral they currently find themselves on is going to get a whole lot steeper.

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