A UEFA Cup is the only European title that Leverkusen boasts. Back then there was still the Cup Winners’ Cup and the final of the third continental trophy was played over two legs. It is the UEFA that beat Javier Clemente’s Espanyol after defeating the Germans in the first leg (3-0) and losing on penalties.
That was an impossible title for a team that had never won anything. Afterwards he only added one German Cup to his record, but Xabi Alonso is in a position to change everything. Leverkusen has already won the Bundesliga for the first time in its history and has finished the season undefeated, something that no one had achieved in the German championship.
Xabi can win more titles in one year than Leverkusen had ever won in their entire history and he only needs two games to achieve it. The first is the Europa League final in which he faces the Italian Atalanta. And he hasn’t lost in either competition either. «It would be historic [acabar la temporada invictos]. It would be something written in golden letters, not only in the history of our club but probably in all of European football. I hope we can,” said the Spanish coach in an interview with the UEFA website.
«Leverkusen is a complete team, very organized. He is versatile, knows how to defend and recover the ball well. The results they have achieved this season are not a coincidence,” says Gasperini, the Atalanta coach.
«All teams are winnable. At the moment, Leverkusen seems unbeatable, but perhaps we are the ones who can change that condition. We have to believe in our philosophy, play on the attack and try to beat them. “You don’t win a title if you don’t beat the best,” says De Roon, the captain of the Italian team, hopefully.
It is Xabi Alonso who has managed to make Leverkusen the best team in Germany after collecting a body. When it arrived last season, Bayer was a team that was fighting to avoid relegation and managed to take it to Europe and leave it close to the Champions League.
The Bundesliga statistics explain better than anything how this team works, which has scored 89 goals and conceded only 24. «It is very important to create trust and reliability, unite the squad, develop good dynamics on a day-to-day basis. All of this reinforces the commitment of the players to achieve our objectives. Then, of course, you have to convince each player and give him an idea that he can commit to. You have to be close to the players to understand them, because then you know how to demand more from them. They will make mistakes, but you can’t be nagging them all the time. You also have to be a great psychologist,” explains the Spanish coach.
The head is essential for Leverkusen to be undefeated when they only have two games left to finish the season. «I think it is due to the regularity and our level of performance, the mental level, our level of concentration. In terms of our mentality and level of concentration, the team has practically not suffered any disasters or a single bad moment during any game, and that has allowed us to have such an exceptional season. But it all has to do with the performance and the mentality that we are building », he says.
«We have been competitive in all the games, whether we played well or badly. We have played well in most of the games, but we have not given up in those when we have not played well. That says a lot about the commitment of this team when preparing for each game. We didn’t take any game for granted, we prepared very well and that requires a lot of physical, football and also mental effort,” insists Xabi.
For Leverkusen this is their third European final. In 2002 he played in the Champions League final, which he lost against Real Madrid with Zidane’s volley. Later the Frenchman was Ancelotti’s assistant when Real Madrid won the Décima with Xabi Alonso directing the midfield.
Now, from the bench, he tries to help Leverkusen win a European title again 36 years later. Although the final is only played in ninety minutes.
2024-05-21 23:05:14
#Xabi #Alonso #games #perfection
