“In 20 years we will look back and all be able to say, ‘Wow, we were there.'” Those were the words of Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso, the Spanish-born champion manager who took his team into an historic Bundesliga score as the team became the first in football history to finish a full season without a loss.
“We will never forget this day. It is totally deserved. In the end, we are undefeated,” he told reporters, according to Eurosport.
The team’s 2-1 defeat over FC Augsburg on Saturday — in front of a home crowd at Bay Arena in Leverkusen, Germany — saw Bayer Leverkusen extend their winning streak to 51 games, according to Goal.
Team members and fans shouted at the top of their lungs in celebration as Alonso lifted up the title-win trophy they earned for the Bundesliga achievement.
ESPN analysts said it’s a win that will be a lesson for teams across Europe, who have the resources — who now don’t have many excuses not to follow the lead of this team that has been “one of a kind,” as one reporter put it.
Attention from the United States
The win appears to have gained massive attention for the sport in the United States. Trend reports on Google Saturday showed Bundesliga was at the top of terms searched on the site from U.S. users, just after the win.
U.S. News
Lionel Messi gets two goals at record New England crowd
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Last year Major League Soccer announced one of the sport’s biggest stars, Lionel Messi, would be signing with Inter Miami in a massive deal, which no doubt helped soccer gain more popularity stateside. The deal reportedly helped drive up real estate prices in South Florida and had a major positive impact on small business.
Messi joined many others from his native Argentina as greater Miami is home to the largest concentration of Argentinians in the United States. Messi’s addition is a big point of pride for them just as much as it is a big source of money for many of their shops.
