EIn a remarkable season, the team from North Rhine-Westphalia became champions of Germany’s Bundesliga for the first time in their 120-year history, ending Bayern Munich’s 11-year domination. Managed brilliantly by Xabi Alonso, they secured the title with five games to spare and became the first team in German football history to go through a Bundesliga season unbeaten, winning 28 of their 34 games, before recording a domestic double with victory over Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final. Alonso, who was appointed in October 2022 with the club second from bottom in the Bundesliga, focused on squad building and made a series of strategic signings including Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka, Victor Boniface and Alejandro Grimaldo.
