Are Leverkusen the best smaller budget team in the past 15 years?

[Sir Joe Aguero]

It’d be hard to believe Txiki & Ferran haven’t had a quiet word with him yet about Pep’s contract situation. I think sometimes people put too much stock in “going home” when you’re often on a hiding to nothing there.

City are tailor-made for a successful, young manager, with tactical nous, who is ready to take a world class team and rebuild it in his own image.

Obviously don’t want Pep to go anywhere, but Alonso would by my number 1 pick for his successor. Nice football, strong defensively, not overly reliant on a single player, a good mixture of possession & countering.

Plus it’d wind the scousers up something rotten.

 

[Pell]

Listening to Rafa Honigstein last week on the totally football show podcast, I thought it was interesting hearing that Leverkusen are not seen as a big club in Germany, if anything they are a periphery club.

To put it into perspective, Leverkusen is the 49th biggest town in Germany. The England equivalent is Gloucester or a population equivalent would be Slough. Leverkusen's population is 165k. Warrington has a bigger population.

They have never won the Bundesliga and only won one DFB Pokal in their history. To be fair they have won the UEFA Cup before back in 1988.

They were very nearly the first team in history to be the first European Cup winner despite never winning their domestic league back in 2002.

If they win a treble this year, it would be an unbelievable achievement, up there with the finest feats of the last 25/30 years.

I remember that team from 2002 with Ballack in it, that knocked out the rags in the semi finals, then lost to a Zidane inspired Real at Hampden Park. It's a great story, and they're still unbeaten!

 

[East Level 2]

Leverkusen are actually an exemption to the 50+1 rule in Germany.

It is wholly owned by Bayer AG.

Is that the much vaunted 50+1 rule that was in place while Bayern won 11 titles on the bounce?

 

[East Level 2]

Hoffenheim are worth a mention.

Girona too.

Love Hoffenheim as they boil almost as much piss as we do.

 

[dublinblue12]

We all know thats Klopps Liverpool

 

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

They were very nearly the first team in history to be the first European Cup winner despite never winning their domestic league back in 2002.

That sounds like a pub quiz question that I wouldn't be able to answer. Out of curiosity — who was it?

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

That sounds like a pub quiz question that I wouldn't be able to answer. Out of curiosity — who was it?

They reached the final and lost to Real Madrid at Hampden Park, with Zidane scoring that iconic volley.

 

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

They reached the final and lost to Real Madrid at Hampden Park, with Zidane scoring that iconic volley.

Oh I'm sorry I misunderstood. The way it was worded, I understood that someone else had beaten them to it, and I was racking my brains thinking “Now who on God's earth could that be?”

Be curious to know who in Europe was champions and relegated the next season, though… ;-)

 

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

It also occurs to me. The year Chelsea won their first CL title, (nobody, I trust, needs reminding which year that was), they finished sixth! Can't imagine that that happens too often in other leagues — if ever.

 

[No.8]

Decent sized club, but they've put together a fantastic team, playing fantastic football.

Some notable recent entries..

Ajax (Huge club - small budget) - beat Juve, Real
Monaco - Won Ligue 1, Semi final CL
Leicester City - Won PL

Smaller budget teams???

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