After 21 matchdays, Bayer 04 currently leads the table and remains unbeaten in 31 competitive matches this season. They are currently setting the standard in German football. On Saturday, Xabi Alonso's team has the opportunity to equal a Bayern record. It would be another sign of strength.
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Pure statistics only interest Xabi Alonso to a limited extent. Someone who, as a player, became a World Cup winner, twice European champion, twice Champions League winner, three-time German and once Spanish champion, who won the UEFA Super Cup twice, the Spanish Cup twice, once the German and English Cup, and was also a Super Cup winner in Spain, England, and Germany, doesn't count individual victories but only titles.
Series and records only concern the 42-year-old at best. Or as the Basque expressed it in the first half of the season regarding various records that Bayer pulverized: "Records are not the goal, but they are only the consequence of our work."
And since his arrival in Leverkusen in early October 2022, Xabi Alonso has been working towards ensuring that his team plays football that is as close to perfect as possible. This includes both in terms of gameplay, tactics, and - due to his fundamental idea of dominant possession football - also aesthetically. All this while maintaining a consistently high mental level. As a result, Bayer plays football that is both attractive and successful, which inevitably leads to new best marks.
In Saturday's match against promoted side 1. FC Heidenheim, the Werkself can challenge FC Bayern for sole claim to the longest unbeaten streak in competitive matches, a position Bayer has held since Matchday 6.
Between December 2019 and September 2020, Bayern Munich went unbeaten in 32 consecutive matches across various competitions. This record of the record champions can now be equaled by Bayer in Heidenheim.
However, this topic does not concern the 42-year-old directly. "Right now, it wouldn't mean anything. If we manage to do it, I'll be very happy, but at the moment, I'm not thinking about it," he says, emphasizing, "It's just a consequence of the top season we've been having so far."
Even though Xabi Alonso doesn't pay much attention to such records, he will also be aware of the impact another victory on Saturday could have.
Record as an additional sign of strength
The fact that the aura of invincibility this season lends his own team tremendous mental strength is beyond question. Yet, another success and the fact of equalling the previously untouchable Munich team's absolute positive record of their era of success is likely to be perceived in Munich as an additional sign of strength.
Thus, Xabi Alonso puts the continuation of the streak into perspective: "It would be a signal that we have very good consistency. That is the most important thing for me because it is difficult to achieve: to have good preparation for every game, not only tactically but also emotionally, to maintain this desire to win, this hunger. It's a great development in our squad. We have not only developed as a team in terms of football but also in terms of mentality."
This impression would also resonate at the Säbener Straße in Munich. And so, achieving the Bayern best mark could become the next small piece of the puzzle to wear down their greatest competitor.
