Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen could soon be new football powerhouses

Leverkusen are making their way to the top

For decades La Liga has been held in a stranglehold by the duopoly of giants Real Madrid and Barcelona and in Germany, Borussia Dortmund looks to have joined Bayern Munich in a similar domination of the domestic game.

But this season has seen the rise of challengers to the established duopolies in Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen, who have helped to make the two leagues far more exciting than ever. A Diego Costa-inspired Atletico is currently occupying second place, one point behind Barcelona and two ahead of Real, while Leverkusen are snapping at the heels of the Bundesliga’s big two in third.

So what’s the story behind their emergence as title challengers?

Bayer Leverkusen

Leverkusen have had a rocky rise to prominence in recent years with an extraordinary second-place finish in 2010/11, which was followed by an immediate setback as Bayern poached coach Jupp Heynckes, leaving the club in the hands of Robin Dutt.

Leverkusen endured a tough season under Dutt, who resigned at the end of the 2011/12 season following a fifth place finish, and former player Sami Hyypia took over the reins alongside Sascha Lewandowski.

A third place finish followed in the 2012/13 campaign, a season so promising that the Leverkusen board appointed Hyypia as the sole coach. Tasked with capturing silverware, the Finn made a raft of signings over the summer to reinforce the team for another assault on the title, with one standout signing.

Son Heung-Min was brought in from Bundesliga rivals Hamburg as a replacement for Andre Schurrle, who left for Chelsea in the summer, and the South Korean immediately became a key part of the Leverkusen attack.

Joining Stefan Kießling and Sidney Sam in Leverkusen’s three-man attack, Son heralded the perfection of a counterattacking style of football utilising the forward’s trickery on the break, which has seen him take on his man successfully 84 per cent of the time.

In addition, Kießling’s record of 104 goals in 229 games for the club meant that the German international could be trusted to carry the goalscoring burden, particularly with an impressive 61 per cent shot accuracy and a conversion rate of 24 per cent.

With Son and Kießling already established performers, Sam’s emergence as a first-team regular was a very pleasant surprise for Hyypia. The winger has been in positively lethal form with seven goals in nine Bundesliga games, converting an incredible 41.2 per cent of his chances in front of the net.

The trio of attackers have been the highlight of Leverkusen’s season so far which began with an opening day blitzing of Freiburg, going on to win six out of seven games with their only loss coming at the hands of Schalke 04.

Their title credentials were then given a boost on the back of a very accomplished defensive performance as they held Bayern to a 1-1 draw thanks to a Sam equaliser, despite the Bavarians dominating 64 per cent of the possession.

Another win over Mainz got them back to winning ways and Hyypia will be very pleased with Leverkusen’s season so far as they look to push Bayern and Dortmund all the way. Their solidity and organisation makes them a good banker once they go ahead, get on a cash out friendly bet with Betfair here

Atletico Madrid

Everyone assumed that Atletico were living on borrowed time following the sale of star striker Falcao to the cash-rich AS Monaco for a staggering sum of £50 million, with most of the sale’s proceeds going to FC Porto to pay off their debts from signing the Colombian in the first place.

Diego Simeone had been building a solid team on the quiet but the departure of Falcao had pundits predicting the decline of a team that finished fifth in 2011/12 and third in 2012/13. Little did they know that Liverpool’s pursuit of Diego Costa would prove to be the defining moment of the summer.

The Brazilian was reportedly set to be heading to Anfield in a big-money move, but his agent used Liverpool’s interest to force Atletico’s hand, earning Costa a new contract and a pay rise to stay at the Vicente Calderon.

It was money well spent as the striker began his rampage across La Liga, plundering an incredible ten goals in nine games and bettering the totals of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Brazilian’s lethality is emphasised by his ridiculous shot accuracy of 73 per cent – that means just three shots from 19 this season failed to hit either the target or the woodwork.

But Simeone’s side isn’t one that is heavily dependent on Costa as the likes of Koke and Thibaut Courtois have stepped up to shoulder the burden with the latter in impressive form with an average of 2.83 saves per goal and three clean sheets so far – one of them coming in the 1-0 win against Real Madrid at the San Bernabeu. Courtois’ emergence as the finest goalie in La Liga makes Atleti difficult to beat once they edge ahead, cash out early with Betfair here.

Koke’s emergence as an excellent young box-to box midfielder has also provided a huge boost to Atletico’s title aspirations this season, following in the footsteps of Spanish icons such as Xavi and Xabi Alonso with a superb passing accuracy of 85 per cent.

With such a strong spine through Simeone’s side, it’s no wonder that they’ve set La Liga alight with eight straight wins, starting with an opening day victory against Sevilla and including a win over hated rivals Real Madrid.

That run may have come to an abrupt end recently with a 1-0 loss to Espanyol, but Simone’s men have their supporters eagerly anticipating a title challenge this season and even daring to ponder the possibility of winning it outright.

The rise of Leverkusen and Atletico have been a joy to watch for neutrals sick of the dominance of the usual suspects, helping to make the two leagues a far more interesting spectacle with upsets and shock results more commonplace these days.

They’re also blazing a trail for clubs across Europe, serving as a reminder that with intelligent team-building and the right tactics and personnel, anything is possible.