The Bayer Leverkusen Phenomenon (Feat. Derek Rae)

Plus: a Super Saturday in the Championship.

As a onetime degenerate FIFA addict before my Xbox was defenestrated, I was chuffed to chat with this week’s guest, Derek Rae, who’s been the voice of the best sports video game there ever was since 2019. It’s a particular craft to provide the commentary for millions of matches that haven’t yet happened, and I asked him how they do it.

But that wasn’t the primary point of our discussion: Rae is also ESPN’s lead commentator for the Bundesliga, and this season, German football has produced a phenomenon. Bayer Leverkusen have played 47 matches across all competitions this season and lost none. Just yesterday, they went down to the Stadio Olimpico and dispatched Roma, 2-0. Xabi Alonso’s young side have won the league title, they’re in the final of the DFB-Pokal—the German Cup—and they’re two games away from a Europa League crown. In short, they’re now six matches from immortality. Derek Rae has been a firsthand witness:

If you’re interested in bearing witness yourself, Leverkusen head to Eintracht Frankfurt this Sunday at 11:30am Eastern Time.

You can also check out the show on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon, and Acast.

———————————

If you’re enjoying THE FOOTBALL WEEKEND, consider forwarding this email to a football fan in your life or becoming a member. For the price of a pint each month, you can help support the podcast and the publication:

———————————

THE HEADLINES

➡️ Premier League clubs have voted to introduce a spending cap from the 2025-26 season, whereby the maximum any club can spend is a multiple—likely to be 5x—what the team with the smallest revenue receives from the league’s centralized commercial and broadcast deals. Read more at The Athletic.

➡️ In the Champions League:

Bayern 2-2 Real Madrid

Dortmund 1-0 PSG

➡️ In the Europa League:

Roma 0-2 Leverkusen

Marseille 1-1 Atalanta

➡️ Ralph Rangnick has reportedly rejected an offer to coach Bayern Munich next season. Club directors were “amazed” at his decision, the tz reports, though Xabi Alonso and Julian Nagelsmann have also turned down the opportunity.

———————————

SUPER SATURDAY IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP

England’s second division has been a hoot, and it comes to a crescendo on the final day of the (regular) season, when everybody plays at the same time. (7:30am ET, 12:30pm GMT.) Jamie Vardy and Leicester City have wrapped up the title and promotion to the Premier League, but it’s still between Ipswich Town and Leeds United for who will join them in earning automatic promotion. Third-place Leeds play fourth-place Southampton, while Ipswich play a Huddersfield side who still have a chance of dodging the trap door to League One:

LEEDS UNITED vs SOUTHAMPTON

IPSWICH TOWN vs HUDDERSFIELD

Meanwhile, Hull City are trying to sneak into the playoffs, and their opponents are desperately fending off relegation:

PLYMOUTH ARGYLE vs HULL CITY

And then there’s Birmingham, who are also trying to escape the drop against a Norwich City side who have just about secured a playoff spot:

BIRMINGHAM CITY vs NORWICH

Oh, and Sheffield Wednesday and Blackburn Rovers aren’t entirely out of relegation trouble, either. They’ve got tough trips to Sunderland and Leicester respectively.

Birmingham is far too big a club to be in League One.

At the same time, in the first division, Arsenal will try to keep their title charge on track against a highly decent Bournemouth team:

ARSENAL vs BOURNEMOUTH

7:30am ET, 12:30pm GMT

And then their title rivals check in for a championship bout of their own:

MAN CITY vs WOLVES

12:30pm ET, 5:30pm GMT

A blowout here is likely, if we’re being honest, so you can always catch GIRONA vs BARCELONA in La Liga, which kicks off at the same time. It’s a Catalonian derby between second and third in the league, and Girona could leapfrog their far bigger neighbors with a victory.

INTER MIAMI vs NEW YORK RED BULLS

7:30pm ET, 12:30am GMT

The GOAT and his old amigos from Barcelona host the third-best team in the MLS Eastern Conference. (Miami lead the way across both divisions with 21 points.) Lionel Messi is top of the top scorers’ chart with 9 goals in 7 matches, but New York’s Lewis Morgan isn’t far behind with 7 in 10.

———————————

THE KITMAN

The folks at Nike have been kind enough to introduce a TFW colorway on the new Premier 3s, which have a similar vibe to the Tiempos that Ronaldinho once made larger-than-life. I can only assume that by wearing these you will gain the ability to rainbow opponents at will.

prodirectsoccer

A post shared by @prodirectsoccer

OK, fine, they didn’t make ‘em green on TFW’s account, but damn do they look good. You can find these puppies on Nike.com. Extra points for the elaborate leather crafting on the back heel and the arch.

———————————

SUNDAY

BRIGHTON vs ASTON VILLA

9am ET, 2pm GMT

These two teams came into this season with similar aspirations: break into the Top Six and cause some trouble. Only one has followed through on that potential—and more: Unai Emery’s Villa side are cruising towards Champions League football next season, while injuries and patchy performances have crashed Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton into 12th place. They can still play on their day, however, and at home they should provide a stern test.

LIVERPOOL vs TOTTENHAM

11:30am ET, 4:30pm GMT

Both these teams have blown up their seasons over the last couple of weeks. Liverpool have crashed out of three competitions and left a turd in the punch bowl at Jürgen Klopp’s going-away party. Tottenham have lost three in a row to Old Yeller their Top Four aspirations. But I sense these two wounded animals could serve up a topsy-turvy goalfest or—failing that—a feast of misery for their many enemies to savor.

ROMA vs JUVENTUS

2:45pm ET, 7:45pm GMT

The Romans welcome the Old Lady looking to hold onto fifth place and a ticket to the Champions League next season. (Atalanta are two points back with a game in hand.) Juventus are third but slipping down the table with each passing week. They’ll want to shore things up over these last four matches to avoid this becoming (even more of) a disappointing season.⚽︎