Bayer 04 Leverkusen has a potentially decisive week ahead with the DFB Cup and championship. Coach Xabi Alonso and his team want to lay the foundation for at least one title against VfB Stuttgart.
Xabi Alonso almost seemed a little impatient. “There is a lot of anticipation,” said the Bayer 04 Leverkusen coach on Monday (February 5, 2024). It is a deliberately optimistic look at this special week, which can determine a lot about the outcome of this season for the Werkself.
Tue, live from 8:45 p.m.: Leverkusen – Stuttgart Arrow right DFB Cup, quarter-finals Arrow right
On Tuesday (8:45 p.m.) Leverkusen will host VfB Stuttgart in the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup. Next Saturday, FC Bayern Munich will come to the Rhine and want to leave a lasting impression in terms of the championship (6.30 p.m.).
Cup victory and championship are possible
“We are very motivated,” said Alonso, adding an unmissable note for someone in charge at Leverkusen. “The players have the desire to win something.” Winning something – a title – is what they have been wishing for on the Rhine for many years.
And they haven’t been as close as they were this year in a long time. Both the cup victory – as is well known, Bayern and defending champions Leipzig have already been eliminated from this competition – and the championship are possible for the current league leaders.
No nervousness
Alonso seems confident that his team can handle this task. On the one hand, the Leverkusen team should benefit from their well-equipped squad. On the other hand, the great international experience of their coach should not be underestimated as a factor for the coming period.
From his successful title times as a player at Real Madrid, Liverpool FC and FC Bayern, Alonso knows exactly what it feels like when you slowly turn into the home straight of a season – and the situation comes to a head. That’s why special measures in training or games are foreign to him. Everything as always. Maintain as much normality as possible internally, even if the environment slowly seems to be getting out of hand. Nervousness seems completely alien to him.
Don’t spread doubts
Continuing to work seriously, never losing focus, concentrating on the next task and staying calm seem to be the Spaniard’s credo. “We have to show that we can play as well as before,” said Alonso.
Alonso cannot imagine that his players would become insecure under the slowly increasing pressure (to succeed) or even give in. “There are good reasons to believe that all players can play both games,” Alonso said. Doubts are forbidden – not just for the upcoming week.