Spring jitters

After enjoying an exciting, energetic winter of exquisite football while the rest of the Bundesliga labored through the darkened weeks, Leverkusen now appear to be wilting in the weak sun of spring.

Leverkusen managed to remain unbeaten in the league until the beginning of March. This was no mean feat in itself but was even more impressive given the pressure of having the juggernaut of a resurgent Bayern Munich steaming up behind them. But after two unconvincing draws against Cologne and Werder Bremen, they travelled to Nuremberg on March 7 and suffered their first defeat, a 3-2 loss to a team hovering precariously over the drop zone.

This first defeat could have precipitated an immediate loss in confidence and the collapse of Leverkusen's title dream, but instead of caving in, they bounced back to impressively thrash a far better team in Hamburg SV the following week, getting back to winning ways with a 4-2 victory at home.

But while the Nuremberg result may have been an anomaly in a campaign that until then had seen enough inspiring soccer to suggest that Leverkusen could finally consign their reputation as championship chokers to the trash can, the same could not be said for this weekend's loss to Borussia Dortmund.

Dortmund defeat reminiscent of the bad old days

Saturday's 3-0 drubbing in Dortmund has raised serious questions about whether Bayer Leverkusen can stay the course. The loss at the hands of BVB appears a more damaging blow than the daylight robbery of Nuremberg, one which has many observers pondering another springtime demise for the club cruelly yet accurately dubbed Neverkusen.

Leverkusen had plenty of early chances to be out of sight of Dortmund by half-time but a glaring miss on ten minutes by Stefan Kiessling when the Leverkusen striker was one-on-one with Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller and another shot dragged wide of the post by Eren Derdiyok ten minutes later cost Leverkusen dearly.

The Kiessling miss was the most worrying. The Leverkusen striker has been on fire all season and has been taking his goal-scoring chances with calm confidence. At Dortmund, with acres of space and time to pick his spot against the on-rushing Weidenfeller, the usually prolific Kiessling wasted a glorious opportunity to settle his and his team's nerves. Dortmund's Lucas Barrios - with two goals - and team mate Dimitar Rangelov were far less wasteful and Leverkusen were humbled.

Failed title challenges of the past unravel in final third

Leverkusen's second half display at Signal Iduna Park was a performance from the dark days of the club's history. The play was dictated by Dortmund and Leverkusen's resolve eroded as BVB pressed. There was no cutting edge up front and the defense eventually crumbled under incessant pressure.

There was also a lack of response to going behind. By the time Dortmund were coasting, Leverkusen had given up. It was a performance reminiscent of the wilting displays which ultimately undid Leverkusen's most recent serious title challenges.

Back in the 2001/02 season, Leverkusen were top of the league for 16 of the 34 games and were leading the Bundesliga with two games to go. Then too, a limp defeat at Nuremberg derailed what looked to be an unstoppable surge, and an even more debilitating loss to Werder Bremen sealed the disaster with a game to go. Despite winning at home to Hertha Berlin on the last day of the season, Leverkusen never regained the summit and the title went to Dortmund.

It was an even bigger calamity in the1999/2000 season when the title looked in the bag on the last day of play. A win against lowly Unterhaching would have brought an end to the years of hurt but instead of putting the middle-table strugglers to the sword, Leverkusen lost their nerve, lost the game 2-0 and lost the championship to Bayern on goal difference.

Main rivals loom as Leverkusen look to settle nerves

Leverkusen followers will be squirming now that their team are in third place after leading the Bundesliga for most of the season, not only because they are now three points behind Bayern Munich and two behind Schalke 04 but because of the ominous similarities that have crept into their team's demeanor in the past few weeks.

Leverkusen face both Schalke and Bayern over the next three weeks, with a difficult trip to giant killers Eintracht Frankfurt in between. Only time will tell if Leverkusen's confidence will return in time to deal deadly blows to their championship rivals or if their season is irrevocably on the wane.

Author: Nick Amies
Editor: Ben Knight