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18.05.2024Bundesliga

Bayer 04’s historic Bundesliga title celebrations 📸🖤❤️

As the clock struck 17:38 in Leverkusen, Lukas Hradecky became the first Bayer 04 captain to raise the Bundesliga Meisterschale into the air. A moment 120 years in the making, 45 years after gaining promotion to the top flight. Champions of Germany! And this is how it all went down on Saturday…
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18:23: Lombo gets the party started!

Goalkeeper Niklas Lomb already has his party glasses on for this evening’s celebrations. An incredible day for him as well, having joined the club as a teenager in 2008. We’ll leave you all at that to go enjoy your own celebrations!

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18:14: Some more added-time goals?

While “Major Tom” gets the BayArena rocking even more, Patrik Schick's son has been scoring goals in front of the south stand and is celebrated by the fans! Like father, like son. And as if that wasn't enough, the Schick family then change ends and run towards the north stand with the ball. And the next time the youngster scores, they play the goal music. Just awesome!

A few metres further on, the whole Frimpong family is dancing. Jeremie and his mum take a photo with the trophy. And the tunes keep on coming!

17:55: Fans with the trophy

“We thank each and every one of you for everything. This is our title!” – The fans have grabbed the stadium microphone and are speaking to everyone in the stadium. And they’re gearing up for the next round of cheers. “We’re Leverkusen and we don’t need to hide from anyone!” Fully deserved, all of them.

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17:54: Oh, and Xabi…

What an amazing job this man has done. The team he’s created, the mentality, the striving for success. Xabi Alonso is the first coach to lead Bayer 04 to a league title. A fact that will forever be true.

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17:52: The men who made it happen

Werner Wenning, chairman of the shareholders committee, CEO Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes, managing director for sports – the men who led the club to this incredible moment.

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17:45: Alonso and Hradecky with the trophy in the stands!

Incredible scenes. Hradecky has just climbed the fence of the north stand and passed over the Meisterschale to the fans there. And then Xabi Alonso joins them up there. Captain and coach lift the trophy aloft one more time. Amazing to see.

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17:38: Official champions photo!

Every single person on this photo has played their part in making this team into champions of Germany, in making history.

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17:30: Presentation time

DFL CEOs Steffen Markel and Marc Lenz present captain Lukas Hradecky with the original Meisterschale. The moment has finally arrived…

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17:24: Champions in the sky

As the podium is being built on the pitch, a plane has just flown over the BayArena with a champions banner.

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17:23: 90 points!

Not many dry eyes around Leverkusen as we look at the table. We finished the season on 90 points! Only Bayern Munich (twice) have previously reached that total in the Bundesliga.

17:22: Full-time! Invincibles!

“Undefeated champions” was called around the BayArena. A fact nobody can ever take away from us. This 2-1 win against Augsburg means the Werkself have achieved something no other team has ever managed in the Bundesliga, going the entire season without a single defeat. The record after 34 games is 28 wins and six draws. Simply incredible!

Among Europe’s top five leagues, only Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal had previously achieved that back in 2003/04. Now Leverkusen have earned the status as Invincibles. Truly historic.

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15:51: Celebrating in our hearts

A really emotional moment as the game clock hit 19:04 and the stadium went completely silent for a minute, remembering the family members, friends, colleagues and neighbours who unfortunately weren’t able to see Bayer 04 be crowned champions. The visiting Augsburg fans also gave their support for this special moment.

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15:22: "Bayer 04 - wir steh'n zu dir!"

Three minutes before kick-off, it was time for “Bayer 04 - wir steh'n zu dir!”, sung live by Peter Lorenz. As the chorus hit, the teams emerged onto the pitch. “And we’ll be champions this year!” We still can’t quite believe it…

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14:04: All set!

Everything has been thought of well ahead of kick-off today. From scarves to flags to capes or even the little sign on the door of the home dressing room, every little detail is geared towards this special and historic day. And let it all sink in again 90 minutes before the game. We are champions of Germany! And after the match, we’ll be officially presented with the Bundesliga Meisterschale.

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