The hottest scoring duo in the Bundesliga right now doesn’t call Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund home.
Bayer Leverkusen’s one-two punch of Stefan Kiessling and Sidney Sam has combined for 13 goals (six and seven each, respectively) this season, helping Die Werkself climb into a tie for second-place in the Bundesliga table.
Bayer’s explosive start has been overlooked, though. And Kiessling’s been getting more attention for a goal he really didn’t score than he is for the five legitimate strikes. Kiessling’s phantom goal against Hoffenheim—a header that snuck in a hole in the side netting, and was allowed by the ref—garnered a lot of attention recently, even drawing a response from a German politician.
"I was always for Kiessling getting a chance with the national eleven, but now the characterless fellow should break both his legs," state-level politician Andreas Biebricher wrote on Facebook.
Biebricher would later apologize, blaming himself for getting caught up in the moment.
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Despite the undue coverage of Kiessling’s ghost goal, Leverkusen is worth the attention, as they proved with a crushing 4-0 victory against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League later last week—led, of course, by Kiessling (two goals) and Sam (one).
For Leverkusen, the breakout form Sidney Sam has shown has been especially encouraging. The 25 year old is tied as the league’s top scorer and also leads the team in assists, with four, helping ease a heavy dependency on production from Kiessling, who scored more than a third of the team’s goals last season, en route to winning the Bundesliga scoring title.
In previous years, Sam’s injuries and inconsistent performances seen him drop off the radar, but his strong start to this season has seen him called to Germany’s national team by coach Joachim Loew. It’s a realization of the kind of potential that Sam’s former trainer (and Champions League-winning manager last season with Bayern Munich) Jupp Heynckes saw in the winger, having once said Sam reminded him of Bayern Munich superstar Arjen Robben.
For Kiessling this season is all about continuing to do what he does best for his club: score. While there was growing criticism of the 30-year-old at the start of the season for not executing on the European level, the game against Donetsk is a step towards silencing the doubters. Indeed, Leverkusen’s last two performances in Europe have shown a dramatic improvement over the early loss against Manchester United in the group stages. It appears that Leverkusen have finally found a stable rhythm in all three competitions, bolstered not just by the side’s two leading strikers, but by unlikely goal scorers like midfielder Jens Hegeler and veteran Simon Rolfes can help carry the team forward when key players fail to step up.
And all this despite losing two of their top players this summer: Andre Schürrle to Chelsea and to some degree Daniel Carvajal to Real Madrid. The club acted decisively to retain quality and depth by bringing in Heung-Min Son from Hamburg, Giulio Donati from Inter, Emre Can from Bayern, Robbie Kruse from Dusseldorf, Emir Spahic from Sevilla and Roberto Hilbert from Besiktas.
With a closer-than-ever race for the Bundesliga title, the top three teams will concede few points. At the moment a simple draw or loss can prove the difference: only one point differentiates Leverkusen from league-leaders Bayern. But the journey to the top is hard when you’re in a league with last season’s Champions League title winners Bayern and finalist Dortmund, who are both eager to win the Deutsche Meisterschale.
Although Bayer always finishes close to the top, Die Werkself have actually never won a German championship, despite reaching the UEFA Champions League final. In the recent past Leverkusen has finished as runners-up in Germany our times in a span of six years (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002), the near misses earning them the nicknames Vizekusen [Deputykusen] and Niemalskusen (Neverkusen). In 2002, to Leverkusen supporters’ unending frustration, the club finished second in the Champions League, the Bundesliga and the German Cup.
Sami Hyypia, one of the Bundesliga’s youngest managers, however, wants Leverkusen to forget the past and instill a winning mentality. While Hyypia’s accomplishments at the BayArena have been largely overlooked due to the much-publicized arrival of Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich, they can’t be ignored—eight wins, one draw (to Bayern Munich) and just one loss in the Bundesliga, the kind of start titles are build upon.
Often described by the German media as cold and quiet, Hyypia—a former Liverpool and Bayer defender—is a forceful character in the dressing room. And no one knows better than Sascha Lewandowski (now youth coach at the club), who coached Bayer alongside Hyypia from April 2012 to May 2013. Lewandowski once said Hyypia is a man with a quiet leadership, but whose words carry a lot of weight.
There’s also an undeniable humility about the Finnish coach. He’s quick to express his gratitude and often makes mention of his upbringing in Finland. But just because he has humble roots, doesn’t mean his vision for Leverkusen isn’t grand.
"When we have faith," Hyypia says, "nothing is impossible for the will."
Alima Hotakie is a Toronto-based writer. Follow her on Twitter.