Ballack fires Leverkusen hopes

uefa.com's mid-term report on UEFA Champions League contenders Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

Having only secured a place in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League qualifying round on the final day of the 2000/01 1. Bundesliga season Bayer 04 Leverkusen were determined not to miss out when they faced a tricky third qualifying round tie with FK Crvena Zvezda, champions of Europe in 1991, last August.

Former champions brushed aside
Although not of the same quality of the side that lifted the European Champion Clubs’ Cup in Bari ten years ago, Leverkusen still had to be on their guard against the 1st Liga champions to progress to the Champions League proper. A goalless draw in the first leg in Belgrade put them on their way before two goals from German international striker Oliver Neuville and one from Ulf Kirsten in the return leg in the BayArena ensured that all the hard work from the previous season had not gone to waste. Coach Klaus Toppmöller and his team could therefore look forward to meeting some of Europe’s number one sides when the draw was made for the first group stage of the Champions League in Switzerland the following month.

FIRST GROUP STAGE: Tough draw

Drawn in Group F with 1992 champions FC Barcelona, 1. Lig champions Fenerbahçe SK and one of the favourites for the 2001/02 French first division title, Olympique Lyonnais, Leverkusen suspected that they would be fighting for second place in the group along with Fenerbahçe and Lyon.

Opening victory
A good start was therefore a must, especially as the opening fixture was away at Lyon, the team most likely to be challenging for second place, and that is exactly what they got thanks to an opportunist 75th-minute strike from goal poacher extraordinaire Kirsten. Next up in the club’s opening home game of the first group stage were the mighty Barcelona - a true test as to just how far Leverkusen could expect to go in this season’s competition. Despite going behind to a 22nd-minute Luis Enrique goal, Toppmöller’s side demonstrated that they will be a force to reckon with. Two goals in the space of 15 second-half minutes through Yildiray Bastürk and Neuville secured a famous win - and Barcelona's only defeat to date in the competition in the eight games that they have played.

Three straight wins
Going into Matchday Three, Leverkusen were top of the group and protecting a 100 per cent record. Fenerbahçe, beaten in both their opening two fixtures, were the visitors. To the home crowd's horror, Leverkusen again trailed to an early goal, but that proved to be the catalyst for another comeback, achieved through strikes from Brazilian Lucio and a second-half goal from German international midfield player Michael Ballack. Leverkusen's 100 per cent run of victories came to an end on Matchday Four in the intimidating Camp Nou stadium, with Barcelona, the eventual group winners, emerging as 2-1 winners. Dutch international striker Patrick Kluivert and Enrique scored for the home side, with Carsten Ramelow getting on the scoresheet in between for Leverkusen.

Wonder goals
Nevertheless, Leverkusen secured their passage through to the second group stages a game early after a 2-1 win in Istanbul over Fenerbahçe, who went on to lose all six games that they played. That victory will be best remembered for a stunning 30-metre strike from German international midfield player Bernd Schneider that curled into the roof of the net. Kirsten also notched his customary goal, his third of the competition. Having secured qualification, Leverkusen switched off for their final group game at home to Lyon and lost 4-2. Again though the game stood out for yet another sensational strike from a Leverkusen player, this time from Zoltán Sebescen, who hit a truly unstoppable shot from fully 35-metres that could well be voted the best goal of the 2001/02 Champions League come the end of the season. 

SECOND GROUP STAGES: Group of death

The confidence gained from finishing second to Barcelona in Group F  took a dent when the draw was made for the second group stages. Leverkusen found themselves in a group containing two-times former winners Juventus FC, Arsenal FC, who were unbeaten in their last ten Champions league games at home, and Deportivo La Coruña, champions of Spain in 2000 and a side who had lost just twice in 18 group games in two seasons of Champions League football. Unsurprisingly, the 1. Bundesliga team were installed as favourites to finish with the group’s wooden spoon.

Against all odds
Going down 4-0 in Group D’s opening match in Turin to a David Trezequet-inspired Juventus did not change many observers' opinions as to how Leverkusen would fare in the remainder of the competition. However, underestimating German opposition is never a wise policy and Toppmöller and his team came bouncing back in the final match before the winter break to shock Deportivo 3-0 at the BayArena thanks to a scintillating second-half display. Crucial goals from Zé Roberto, Neuville and Ballack kept Leverkusen in contention for a place in the quarter-finals when the tournament starts up again next February.

REMAINING GAMES: Home wins

Leverkusen get back to action in the Champions League in 2002 with a double-header against Arsenal, followed by a home game with Juventus, before finishing up with a trip to Deportivo. With all four teams currently level on three points after two games, the group is wide open, but Leverkusen must surely look to take maximum points from their two remaining home games if they want to progress to the knock-out stages of the tournament. If they can achieve that, and to date the club’s form at the BayArena in all competitions has been imperious, then they can afford to possibly lose in Galicia if they take a point back from London.

THE COACH: Klaus Toppmöller

Toppmöller, 50, played 204 1. Bundesliga matches, mainly for 1. FC Kaiserlautern, during his playing career as a centre-forward in Germany and also won three caps for the German national team during that time.

Close call
Made his name as a coach while with Eintracht Frankfurt between July 1993 and April 1994 and became known for sending out teams who always played creative and attacking football. For the first half of the 1993/94 season it appeared as though his Eintracht side would run away with the 1. Bundesliga title in some style. However, after the winter break, Eintracht’s goalscorer in chief, Tony Yeboah, got injured and their title challenge fell by the wayside. Toppmöller himself was dismissed as a result. After Eintracht, Toppmöller coached VfL Bochum 1848 to the German second division title in the 1995/96 season. Having spent five years at the Ruhrstadion, he joined Leverkusen on 27 June 2001 following a year at 1. FC Saarbrücken.

THE PLAYER: Michael Ballack

Although the goals of Kirsten and Neuville have been vital to Leverkusen’s continued progression in the 2001/02 Champions League, those goals would not have been possible had it not been for the calming and reassuring presence of Ballack in the centre of the Leverkusen midfield. Additionally, the fast developing German international has chipped in with two vitals goals himself.
Bayern pounce
Ballack is now one of the most priceless commodities in the 1. Bundesliga, as was confirmed just before Christmas when rivals FC Bayern München announced that he would be joining them from next summer for a fee of €14.5m. A regular in Rudi Völler's national side, Ballack has already been likened in some quarters to a young Franz Beckenbauer in terms of stature, strong running and the ability to play with both feet. Like so many of his colleagues, Ballack came through the old East German youth scheme and was 14-years-old when he caught everyone's attention after signing forms for Chemnitzer FC. Tall and versatile, he was snapped up by 1. FC Kaiserslautern, but fell out with coach Otto Rehhagel and was relegated to the bench. It was no place for a player of such obvious talent and Leverkusen were so keen to acquire a free-kick expert that they paid €4.8m for his services. An established German international, he scored in the first leg of the 2002 FIFA World Cup play-off against Ukraine.

DOMESTIC FORM: Up for grabs

With over half the current 1. Bundesliga season having been played and Leverkusen currently top of the table, with 39 points from 18 games played, there is genuine belief among the players that this will be the season that they finally break their Bundesliga duck, having come so close on a number of other occasions, especially in 1999/00 when they finished as runners-up to Bayern on goal difference.  No team has won more games than Leverkusen, or scored more goals than them, and with Bayern, who have won the last three Bundesliga titles, currently struggling down in fifth place, five points off the pace having already lost four times this season, many experts in Germany believe that Toppmöller and his talented squad of players will never have a better chance of being crowned champions