Der Fall von Bayer Leverkusen, Was kommt als nächstes? | The Case of Bayer Leverkusen: What Comes Next?
After Leverkusen’s loss to Arminia Bielefeld and now Hertha Berlin, two borderline Bundesliga relegation teams, I have decided to write an article on what has happened to Bayer Leverkusen. Leverkusen has turned from leading the Bundesliga to struggling to get a win over less talented teams. Some might blame Kai Havertz, Leverkusen wunderkind, who left for Chelsea and made Bayer Leverkusen a “bottom team”. But Leverkusen succeeded without him. Why was Leverkusen doing good without Havertz? Today I will be answering these questions and how Bayer Leverkusen can turn their bad streak around. Let’s get into it.
It is Kai Havertz?
Kai Havertz is known as the “wunderkind”, German for “Wonder Kid”. (via CBS Sports)
The short answer: No, losing Kai Havertz didn’t hurt Leverkusen. It is sure dang good to have a young superstar on your team, but it hasn’t been a huge loss. Look at the results with and without Havertz.
Results with Havertz (After COVID pause)
16 Goals scored, 11 scored against
Record: 5-3-1
Results without Havertz (Before Christmas break)
27 goals scored, 3 scored against
Record: 8-0-4
And then look at the stats after Christmas break.
Results without Havertz (After Christmas break)
7 goals scored, 14 scored against
Record: 3-8-3
Well, for a good 12 games, Leverkusen was leading the league without Havertz, but what has happened since Christmas Break? They suffered their first loss before the break only to come back to lose position and win three games. Did losing Havertz finally catch up to them? My final answer is no, losing Havertz isn’t the reason why they haven’t been winning.
Well then, is someone not standing up?
Another simple explanation is that Leverkusen might have been playing well as a team for the first part of the year but fell apart. Maybe the leading goal scorer is injured. Maybe the passing isn’t as efficient as it should be. Let’s look at the stats.
Well, as shown earlier, we can see the stark differences between before the break and after. Before the break, Leverkusen had scored 27 goals in Bundesliga play, but even with two more games played after the break, Leverkusen hasn’t even scored a third of that total, netting seven goals. Leverkusen has three goal scorers in the top 20 in the Bundesliga: Lucas Alario (11th, 9), Patrik Schick (13th, 8), and Leon Bailey (19th, 6). So why is Leverkusen’s offense struggling right now? Well, you can attribute it to….
Peter Bosz?
Is Peter Bosz the problem for Bayer Leverkusen? (via Bundesliga.com)
It’s fairly easy to blame the manager here. After all, the manager is the one in control of the team. Look at the stats with and without Patrik Schick:
Patrik Schick on bench/Lucas Alario starting: 3 goals scored, 6 scored against (0-4-0)
Patrik Schick starting/Lucas Alario on bench: 13 goals scored, 15 scored against (3-5-2)
Well, Peter? Now you know! Start Patrik Schick! Leverkusen hasn’t won a game with Schick not starting. Even with Lucas Alario scoring more goals, Bayer Leverkusen does better with Schick starting. This stat shows how Bosz isn’t the best manager around and that Leverkusen should start looking into some other options.
How can Leverkusen turn it around?
Patrik Schick just might be the secret to success for Bayer Leverkusen. (via Bundesliga.com)
Well, there isn’t a way to turn it around. Even as a Leverkusen fan, I will have to accept this: Bayer Leverkusen will never be good. If they have any good young talent it will be taken away from them. Their best chance at a Bundesliga title is to get an older player that is good and combine that with a young squad. Leverkusen will never reach the level of Bayern Munich.
My approach would be:
Start Patrik Schick
Finish the season out, hopefully get a Europa League berth, and pray for a Champions League berth
Look for other managing options that aren’t Bosz
Develop another young player (Florian Wirtz?)
I have hope for this Leverkusen team. They are a very young squad that can hopefully do well. All I want is just one Bundesliga championship. But for now, I will have to accept the reality of Neverkusen.
Disclaimer: Leverkusen fired Peter Bosz Tuesday 3/23/2021. This was written before the firing and all writing will not take into account Bosz’s firing.