If all works out, Bayer Leverkusen will complete this period with one document, 2 prizes and 3 unpleasant existential inquiries, every one of which will lead back to Wednesday, to Dublin and the Europa Organization last, and all of which will take precisely the very same bleak kind: “What happens if”?

What Happens If it was Exequiel Palacios? I was anticipating Ademola Lookman ahead.Granit Xhaka Really did not offer the sphereEdmund Tapsoba I was extending my legsWould certainly the last have ended up in different ways? Could Leverkusen have rallied to defeat Atalanta? Could Leverkusen supervisor Xabi Alonso have led his group to an unbeaten treble?

Obviously, it’s terrible that it has actually concerned this. Nevertheless, Leverkusen have actually illuminated the European period greater than any kind of various other group. They won the German championship for the first time after 120 years of trying. This weekend they should add the German Cup to their trophy tally. They overtook Benfica as the holders of the longest unbeaten run in European football since World War I. And, in case no one has mentioned, they’ve done it in the first full season under Alonso’s management.

That’s how their season should be remembered. When Alonso, the players and the fans look back on this season in years to come, they should focus on what the team achieved, not what they fell short. They exceeded even their wildest ambitions. But “should” is not the same as “will.” Nothing hurts more than “almost.” Leverkusen will always be wondering, whether they want to or not.

But there are some silver linings. A few months ago, when both Liverpool and Bayern Munich began searching for a new manager, Alonso made it clear he would not welcome approaches from either club. He said he was still honing his skills. He had made a long-term commitment to Leverkusen and was not going to renege on it at the first opportunity.

At the time, and perhaps even now, this felt distinctly countercultural: football is not only conditioned to believe that all waves can be ridden, but its economy is structured in such a way that anything new or bright or promising is quickly snapped up by the game’s (often self-proclaimed) great and great.

Kieran McKenna, for example, has been in senior management for a little longer than Alonso; he’s still only 38. In his two seasons at Ipswich Town, he led the club from League One, the third tier of English football, to the Premier League. Next season, Ipswich will be promoted to the English top division for the first time in 20 years.

Whether McKenna is there or not is another matter. Brighton are keen to appoint him as a replacement for Roberto De Zerbi. Chelsea I want to give him a chance to get fired. This time next year, Ipswich will be offering him a better contract in a bid to persuade him to stay, but the next step – and the chance of promotion – may be too big to refuse.

Perhaps the same can be said of Crystal Palace, whose transformation in the final two months of the season into a club that resembled a cross