Leverkusen chase historic double in Europa League final

Before this season, Bayer Leverkusen had only won two major trophies in its 119-year history. However, on Wednesday, when they play Atalanta in the Europa League final in Dublin, the freshly crowned Bundesliga champions have the opportunity to win a hat trick.

This season, Leverkusen ended Bayern Munich's 11-year reign as the German champion, becoming the first team in the 61-year history of the Bundesliga to finish the season undefeated under Xabi Alonso's team. They've advanced to the German Cup final as well.

They have been dubbed Bayer "Neverlusen" for their unbeaten streak in all competitions this season, and Serie A team Atalanta will have their work cut out for them trying to upset a squad that hasn't lost in a record-tying 51 games since August.

Leverkusen does not give up until the final whistle, despite several teams coming dangerously close to handing them their first loss of the season with 17 goals scored in or after the 90th minute.

"We have always been competitive, regardless of how well or poorly we played. In an interview with Uefa, Alonso stated, "We played well for the most of the games, but we didn't give up in the ones where we didn't play well."

That speaks volumes about this team's dedication to practicing in advance of each game. We never considered any game to be given.

Similar to Alonso, Gian Piero Gasperini, the coach, has transformed Atalanta's trajectory, turning the Bergamo-based team into a consistent force in European play since taking over in 2016.Atalanta has a fun, high-intensity offensive style, and managers like Maurizio Sarri and Pep Guardiola have compared playing against Gasperini's teams to "going to the dentist." Sarri famously remarked, "You still feel the pain even if you come out unscathed."

Outstanding accomplishment

After finishing in the top five, Atalanta will also participate in the Champions League the next season, much as Leverkusen. However, after losing to Juventus in the Coppa Italia final, they will be looking to cap the season with a major trophy for the first time in 61 years.

The Dublin game will be Gasperini's first-ever European final, same to Alonso's.

The 66-year-old Italian stated, "It's a great achievement and source of satisfaction, achieved with a really good season from this whole team." Is this the pinnacle of my professional life? Definitely in terms of achievement and prestige. Fortunately, I've had a lot of satisfaction, if maybe not to the same extent.

Atalanta will be without important starters like defender Sead Kolasinac and midfielder Marten de Roon, despite Alonso having a complete roster at his disposal.

In the DFB-Pokal final against Kaiserslautern, a lower-division team, Leverkusen will look to emulate their 1988 Uefa Cup triumph, and a win might set them up for an unusual treble. According to Alonso, such an accomplishment would be "historic."

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