Exclusive confession: I couldn’t sleep before the Champions League final! Now it’s amazing how Leverkusen is conquering Europe again

There are moments that go down in sports history as well as your memory. You won’t forget them because you’re on the wrong side of history. “I kept letting it go and constantly asking myself and my friends: Could I have done something differently?” admits Zoltán Sebescen.

It was May 2002 when, as Leverkusen’s right back, he entered the Champions League final. Against the miracle from Germany, Real Madrid stood with stars like Raúl, Figo or Roberto Carlos.

It was the center of the tiny Brazilian who tried to block Sebescen before the half. And he actually succeeded quite well. “We collided with our feet, I licked the ball with my protector, which made it fly very high,” recalls Sebescen. “I was relieved that he didn’t fly sharply into the goal, but only to its edge.”

The bad luck was that the ball fell from the Glasgow skies to Zinedine Zidane, who amazingly swung his weaker left foot.

One of the most breathtaking goals in football history was born, giving Real a 2:1 win and the coveted trophy. Leverkusen was in tears. Again.

A few days earlier, he had already lost the final of the German Cup, and he narrowly missed out on the Bundesliga title. The team of Ballack, Lúcia or Berbatova did not get anything out of the wonderful season. Just a mischievous nickname Neverkusen. A club that has colossal bad luck and can never win anything.

“I’m glad that it no longer applies,” smiles the forty-eight-year-old Sebescén today. “And it’s scary how the current team has demolished this label. Any premiership is great, but if you don’t lose the entire season to top it off? Incredibly!”

The Bundesliga triumph is already in Leverkusen’s pocket. He is looking forward to the final of the domestic cup and on Thursday night, after 22 years, he can advance to the grand final on the international stage. In the rematch against AS Roma, it is enough not to lose the promising 2:0 lead from the opening semi-final of the Europa League.

Sebescen, a friendly guy and today the sales director of one of the German headquarters of the sports brand Decathlon, will be cheering on TV at home in Stuttgart. And he acknowledges: “Leverkusen has already surpassed our great season.”

Seriously? After all, on your way to the final, you beat Barcelona and knocked out Juventus, Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester.

No one expected that after the preliminary round against Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, we could have such an amazing journey. We beat the big clubs and even though we didn’t win any trophies I was proud of the way we played. I think everyone in Germany also appreciated us. People didn’t like Leverkusen very much.

Because the club is not owned by the fans like elsewhere in Germany, but by the Bayer factory?

Yes. Leverkusen is a small town that was famous for its factory. The club had no tradition, only the main sponsor invested a lot of money in it. It’s similar to Wolfsburg, which I also played for. Volkswagen is pushing money into it again. The Germans are different and sensitive about this, it doesn’t fit into their idea of ​​traditional football. But then we won their hearts as we were able to represent German football in Europe.

Your reward was the Champions League final. A dream come true?

I started playing football at the age of five. A few years later, my dad asked me what I was going to be when I grew up. I kept repeating that I would be a professional footballer. I worked hard for twenty years. Suddenly you are standing in the final of the Champions League and you realize that the hard work has paid off. You also have to be very lucky. But yes, I was living my dream.

Did the nervousness set in?

Damn and how! I couldn’t take it all night before the game. I knew in advance that I would play in the base. And I also knew that I would enter the final with an injury.

I injured my meniscus in the quarter-final against Liverpool and the doctor decided that surgery would be necessary. But in the semi-final we played against Manchester United and coach Topmöller asked me: Zoli, would it be possible for you to wait with the surgery and sit on the bench just to be safe?

Say no more, coach! I immediately ran to the doctor and asked him for pain-killing injections. At the same time, I promised him that I would go for surgery after the match. But I had in my head whether I would endure it even more when there were three or four weeks left until the end of the season.

But after ten minutes, Jens Nowotny injured his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and I had to jump with the injured meniscus to the line, where Ryan Giggs was rampaging. It was crazy, but we managed to get a promotion draw. After her I learned that things were not looking good with Jens at all.

So another postponement of the procedure?

Yes, the coach said: No surgery, we need you in the final! Over the course of four weeks, I got lots of injections and pain pills. You may be wondering if it was worth it.

Hundred percent! I would go to the playground if I could only stand on one leg! I went in for surgery two days after finals.

It sounds scary to me. You are going to the final of your life, but you are not fit, and on top of that, the devilishly fast Roberto Carlos will start on your side.

Let me ask a question. Did you see the finale?

Yes, like a teenager. And before the interview, I freshened it up in a montage.

Maybe it’s just my opinion, but for the entire 90 minutes one team was better. And that’s ours. I still don’t understand how we lost. One guy who wore a Zidane name tag on his back was responsible for that. That was the most amazing football player I ever played against. It was an honor to stand on the same field with him. He scored an incredible goal. We were not able to equalize because the injured Real goalkeeper was replaced by an unknown substitute for the last twenty minutes. Casillias was his name and he caught brilliantly.

In addition to the Champions League, you also narrowly missed out on the domestic cup and Bundesliga trophies. Why didn’t your fairy tale have a single golden happy ending?

We asked ourselves that question many times, we solved it in the cabin. If there was an answer to that, we wouldn’t allow it. But look back at the team we had. We played most of the season with fifteen to sixteen people. We made it far in all competitions and many boys represented it.

I remember that I was close to 45 starts per season, but some teammates had 60. The club was not ready for that. We lacked strength, injuries were added. Today you look at Bayern Munich who have 22 comparable players. They can rotate them and spread the load, we can’t. That may be the explanation, but it’s hard to say if it was the only reason.

Were you upset that you were renamed Neverkusen?

That’s how it goes in football and that’s how the media works. It wasn’t very pleasant, but it left beautiful memories in my head. If we had won one of the decisive games, would anything have changed? Not for me, it was a great season anyway.

What do you remember about it?

A lot of our boys have grown incredibly during the season. Everyone knew about Michael Ballack, but he suddenly scored over 20 goals as a midfielder. Plus Zé Roberto, Lucio, Schneider, Ramelow. Everything fell into place and I know with hindsight that it was an honor to play in such a team.

Are experiences more than trophies?

We started the Bundesliga decently, we didn’t lose the first seven games and suddenly our confidence grew with every next game. We enjoyed football, we joked, we had lunch together. Friendship lasts for many years, but I would describe us as colleagues with the same goal that we were striving for together. A lot of different personalities managed to come together. We had a lot of representatives in the team, but everyone understood that someone would not fit into the lineup.

Do you find similarities in Leverkusen’s current run?

It is very difficult to judge, we are separated by 22 years. But I dare to say that in some ways yes. No one expected such great seasons from both teams. The current guys showed a lot of skill. They also had great luck and a wonderful coach. Xabi Alonson took over the team perhaps in 17th place in the Bundesliga, but he started to put the team together like a puzzle.

There are not twenty best Bundesliga players in the team, but these guys play the best football in the Bundesliga. The coach recognized which guys and how they could work together. I also can’t even count how many games they saved in the last seconds. It shows mental strength.

Are you happy in Germany that Bayern’s dominance has stopped?

Of course! The last eleven seasons have been boring when you still have we are the same champions. I’m not a Munich fan, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like them. Bayern is doing a good job of advertising German football. It’s not his fault that he won titles, it’s the others’ fault that they couldn’t beat him. It was not just a matter of money, as has been shown in the past. I think all of Germany except Bayern fans are happy about the change.

Are you glad that Leverkusen got rid of the Neverkusen label?

And how! I’m happy for the whole club! I really wish this was just the beginning of the Bayer era. I believe it will not be the only season with the title.

Can he make Leverkusen even stronger?

Good question. I know the club and the coach, Xabi Alonso, and I know that he would not have extended the contract if he was not sure that the core of the team would be maintained. An offer of one hundred million euros for a player is enough even for Leverkusen, but I think the team will be ready for the Champions League. I believe it is possible to stay at the same level.

You didn’t succeed then. A lot of teammates went to top addresses, but you gradually disappeared from professional football. What happened?

After the Champions League final, I went for my first meniscus surgery. In four weeks I was fit, but right in the summer at the training camp in Switzerland, after a few days my operated knee swelled. The first information from the doctors was that apparently the operation failed, and I went for another operation. The procedure was already smaller, but the knee continued to swell, so two more operations came.

But the troubles didn’t go away, did they?

It took a year and a half and seven surgeries for doctors to determine that it wasn’t a mechanical problem. I was bitten by a tick in Switzerland, which infected me with Lyme disease. In the meantime, however, I underwent so many surgeries that my knee no longer allowed me to play at a professional level. If the cause had been revealed earlier, the career would have looked different.

Was it easy to quit before thirty?

I rehabilitated from eight in the morning until eight in the evening, it was the most difficult time for me, but also for my family and friends. But mind you, I’m not complaining! Today I have had 13 surgeries on my left knee. I’m happy to keep walking. It made me stronger and I’m grateful for the life I have.

Why doesn’t it revolve around football anymore?

I spent a few years trying to heal and get my life back on track. Gradually I started working with my former agent, looking after and advising other and young footballers. The company was based in Switzerland, but I continued to live in Germany, which was not compatible for family functioning. But by chance I met an acquaintance who worked for Decathlon. And he asks me: Could you imagine working in a store?

I shook my head. But he continued to convince me: Wait, but you enjoy team sports, don’t you? This is how we work! That also convinced me. I’ve been doing this job for nine years now, the company shares similar values ​​to me. I’m happy and wouldn’t trade her for anything else!

Do they know at work that you were a great soccer player?

Of course! It is heard at almost every meeting (smiles). But the younger generation stops recognizing me.

Your sons also fall into it.

The youngest Elias is only two years old, I have two older sons from my first marriage who have never seen me play. They only know everything from stories or the internet. Joshua is eighteen, but he doesn’t like football much, he loves MMA and similar sports. Noah is younger, he will be sixteen, but he knows everything about my past. He plays for a smaller club and is probably even more crazy about football than I used to be.

I assume that Leverkusen is still a big topic for you not only because of that.

We watch the Bundesliga together. I also have a good relationship with the club. I belong to the old guard with names like Ulf Kirsten, Bernd Schneider, Jens Nowotny, Marko Babič or Yildiray Bastürk. A few times a year I go to play a match or tournament. The club sometimes invites us to nice matches and Noah is always with me. Of course he got a new jersey and now wears it proudly.

Zoltán Sebescen