The new boss on the pitch: Granit Xhaka (left) ensured the right balance in the Leverkusen ensemble against his former club Gladbach.
Photo: imago/Team 2
Granit Xhaka had made himself a little comfortable at his former place of work. Wearing white socks and leaning casually against a railing, the Swiss national player stood in front of the players’ tunnel in Borussia Park – where he played himself from 2012 to 2016. “Oh yes,” he mused, “I came here when I was almost 20, now I’ll soon be 31.” Then he spoke of the seven years at Arsenal FC that followed his time on the Lower Rhine, mentioning quite immodestly that you “obtain a different form abroad, of course.” Well, and now in Leverkusen it’s like this: “I feel that I have a lot of self-confidence.”
When the Werkself scored 3-0 in Gladbach, Xhaka reliably brought back the qualities he had acquired on the British Isles – in a ensemble that, with extremely reliable passing, quick thinking and a very low error rate, ensured that Borussia were hopelessly overwhelmed from the start was. “It was an absolutely deserved victory, also at altitude. Leverkusen have a strong team, not only individually but collectively as well. They always took away our chances in counter-pressing and we didn’t manage to stay technically clean. As a result, we were forced to run after the ball a lot,” Gerardo Seoane summed up his team’s sobering performance.
nd.Kompakt – our daily newsletter
Our daily newsletter nd.Compact brings order to the news madness. Every day you get an overview of the most exciting stories from the editorial staff. Get the free subscription here.
The polyglot Swiss spent 15 months in the head coaching chair at Bayer before his dismissal last fall. Now he has to direct the personnel change at Borussia as skilfully as possible and after the first two league games with a total of seven goals conceded: “We knew that it would be a difficult season. Hopefully we’ll be able to hold the ball better under pressure next week.”
Bayern are auditioning in Gladbach next Saturday. And after the international break that follows, Leverkusen, next weekend’s hosts of newly promoted Darmstadt, will travel to Munich for the top game. “I’m only thinking of Darmstadt, and then maybe Bayern,” affirms head coach Xabi Alonso, for whom the longed-for perfect start to the season with nine points from the three opening games is now very close.
The Werkself also announced the signing of 24-year-old Nathan Tella from Southampton FC on Sunday. The versatile right winger is Leverkusen’s most expensive transfer this summer, including bonuses it should cost 23 million euros. This rounds off Bayer’s already remarkable shopping spree for the season that has just started. And fittingly, Jonas Hofmann, who was consistently whistled at by the Gladbach fans, made one last statement about the media theater surrounding his move from Borussia Park to Dhünn when he – without explicitly mentioning the name of Borussia’s sports director Roland Virkus – explained : »It was a bit like kindergarten for me too, to be honest.«
Leverkusen didn’t have a kindergarten, but a lot of very young footballers together. “We have,” explained the 31-year-old Hofmann, “signed players with experience so that they can catch the youngsters when they get cocky.” This meant above all his team-mate Xhaka from defensive midfield, who scored the two goals for Leverkusen initiated the break with fine chip balls to newcomer Alejandro Grimaldo (provider of assists for new signing Victor Boniface) and Hofmann (provider of assists for central defender Jonathan Tah).
“We need this connection between midfield and Florian Wirtz. Granite has an important role there, as well as in the connection to central defence. Also, he has good energy to show the boys what to do. He did that from day one,” praised chief trainer Alfonso while Xhaka gave an early assessment of Bayer’s chances for the title. ‘We’re good, definitely. Whether that’s enough for the top, I don’t want to talk about it at all. I don’t want to put any pressure on,” said the native of Basel, who made it clear: “I’m brutally happy that things are going so well.” And: “I want to achieve great things with this club. That is my personal challenge.«
Subscribe to the »nd«
Being left is complicated.
We keep track!
With our digital campaign subscription, you can read all issues of »nd« digitally (nd.App or nd.Epaper) at home or on the go for little money.
Subscribe now!
