Executives at Bayer Leverkusen, the longstanding but habitually middleweight German soccer team, have been fielding the messages since at least February. Some were delivered in person, a quiet blessing after yet another victory. Others came via WhatsApp, unsolicited and unexpected notes from peers and acquaintances and, to their occasional surprise, traditional foes. But as the German league season gathered pace, plenty wanted to laud Leverkusen’s impending achievement: It was, with each victory, getting closer and closer to being crowned national champion for the first time. Leverkusen will, this weekend, surge over the line and end a run of Bayern championships that stretches back more than a decade.

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Persons: laud Leverkusen’s Organizations: Bayer Leverkusen, Soccer, Rivals, Bayern Munich, Bayern, Werder Bremen Locations: German