Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs FC Augsburg 2:1, unbeaten German champions – and the championship shield was presented to the "Werkself" professionals for the first time. ##LocalSiteName## accompanied this unique day on the Rhine for you and explains why Football trips & tickets Bayer Leverkusen are also a hit in 2024/2025.
From Leverkusen-Manfort station, not far from the Morsbroich Castle Park, the path leads directly to the party mile of Bayer fans. On Bismarckstraße, which leads to BayArena , fans sat on this historically significant 18th of May 2024 at noon in front of snack bars and Kölsch beer stands.
It's a twenty-minute walk to the stadium – and it's worth it. You soak up a lot of football atmosphere before you reach the arena.
Honestly. I have seen many happy people on a final Bundesliga matchday – as a reporter and as a fan. In Dortmund, in Stuttgart, in Karlsruhe, in Frankfurt.
But in Leverkusen, they were truly happy for the first time. Not just relieved, like in 1996, when they narrowly escaped relegation on the last matchday with a draw against Lautern (1:1), but genuinely happy. After a historic season without a Bundesliga defeat.
You could feel it around the BayArena, where thousands of free scarves with the inscription "Together under the Cross – German Champions 2024 Bayer Leverkusen" were distributed to the spectators. Getting into conversations with the good-humored fans was easy on this unique day.
"A nice and friendly city"
"What's special in Leverkusen right now is the coach," said Wilfried Breuer (LEV), "what he has made of this team is enormous. Recommended for fans who have never been here are the Japanese Garden and Morsbroich Castle, which is not far from here (about a 20-minute walk, ed.), and the entire area with lots of forest."
Markus from Cologne believed: "The atmosphere is special, the fans are in a good mood and above all peaceful. In Dortmund, 5,000 Leverkusen fans contributed to a great atmosphere, everything relaxed and not aggressive. It is a nice, friendly city and the people are more relaxed." Salvatore Campisi from Remscheid, who has been with Bayer 04 for 25 years: "Football trips to Bayer Leverkusen are always a thrill. There are pubs and kiosks on every corner where people come together in a very family-like atmosphere." For Robert from Meerbusch, "the coziness around the stadium and the great currywurst" were crucial.
"You are speechless at every game and just want more," said Heiko from Leverkusen. Yes. Bayer 04 Leverkusen has become a true brand in the Bundesliga – with its own identity.
View inside the BayArena before the match against FC Augsburg on May 18, 2024. Photo: Carsten Germann for die-fussballreise.de
The best example: Peter Lorenz, Jens Hartmann, and their band sang live during the break the hymn "Bayer, Bayer 04, we stand by you" written by them. "An incredible moment when this hymn starts, and everyone joins in," said Jens Hartmann in the halftime interview.
Where to get the "beer for the game" in Leverkusen?
Football trip tip: A recommendation we repeatedly received from fans for the "beer for the game" (Bitburger Pils and Früh Kölsch are available in the stadium) is Stadioneck, Karl-Marx-Straße 36, five minutes' walk from BayArena.
FC Augsburg was a worthy opponent in the last Bundesliga match and demanded everything from the "Werkself," but could not prevent Leverkusen's 34th season match without defeat. Victor Boniface and national player Robert Andrich with a backheel trick once again showcased the skills that made this season so special for Bayer 04.
At this moment, a football dream under the Bayer Cross comes true: Leverkusen finally has the championship shield. Photo: Carsten Germann for die-fussballreise.de
Then Bayer 04 Leverkusen received the championship shield. Captain Lukas Hradecky and coach Xabi Alonso climbed into the boiling North Stand, where football dreams under the Bayer Cross came true in those moments.
Xabi Alonso in the fan stand
"The best thing was when Alonso climbed up to the North Stand with the super awesome, active fans, we shed tears," Nils (LEV) described his most emotional moment of the day, "after so many years we have reached the goal, we have waited so long for this."
Peter Bauer (66) from the "Coastal Lions": "I always said: I want to experience once that the captain of Bayer Leverkusen, back then still in the Haberland Stadium, receives the championship shield – and then die. In other words: I am so happy."
Well, who isn't? "Having the shield here is the result, and it is totally deserved," said Xabi Alonso in the last Bundesliga press conference of the season, "the fans gave us energy in important moments, and that's why we wanted to share this emotion with them."
At the end of the just eight-minute press conference, the Spaniard, who ended "Vizekusen," received a standing ovation from the journalists present. It doesn't get any better than that. Or does it?
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Der Autor: Carsten Germann berichtet seit 2002 aus erster Hand über den englischen Fußball, u. a. für DIE WELT, BILD am SONNTAG und seit April 2021 auch als leitender Redakteur beim Portal Fussballdaten.de. Zudem gab er mit den Büchern Football’s home (2007) und Absolute Dynamite! (2010) zwei Sammelbände mit seinen Fußball-Reiseerlebnissen aus Großbritannien heraus. Für DIE FUSSBALLREISE schreibt er regelmäßig über den Insel-Kick.