Sports director Simon Rolfes from Bayer Leverkusen sees coach Xabi Alonso as a special pound in the fight for a place in the semi-finals of the Europa League. “He’s reached a few semi-finals in his career,” said Rolfes the day before the quarter-final second leg at Union Saint-Gilloise (Thursday, 9 p.m. / RTL): “He has the experience of what matters at the end of a long season high pressure. The strategy, the will and the focus on keeping the mental freshness, few others embody like him.” As a professional footballer, Alonso was world champion, two European champions and two Champions League winners.
Alonso, meanwhile, doesn’t want to tell the players too many stories from his career, it’s more about the mental approach to such games. “We don’t talk that much about my experience. But of course I tried to help the team in preparation,” he said. And is sure: “We are ready.”
The starting position is good after the 1-1 in the first leg and the anticipation in Leverkusen is great, assured Rolfes. “The game is something special. You can tell that by how long it’s been.” Bayer last reached the semi-finals of a European Cup in 2002. But despite the five changes in the 0-0 draw against Wolfsburg on Sunday, the Europa League does not enjoy more attention than the Bundesliga. “We always try to field the best team,” said Rolfes. “That can always mean that two or three others play.”
For Thursday, the ex-national player is hoping for the Argentinian world champion Exequiel Palacios, who was substituted in the first leg with thigh problems and only trained again on Wednesday. “We have to see how he reacts to that. That’s why the decision won’t be made until Thursday,” said Rolfes: “But it would be important if he could play. He’s played a dominant role in the last few weeks.” Even when Alonso appeared before the press in Brussels in the evening, Palacios’ commitment was still open. Amine Adli, who ended the morning training early, is sure to be there.
Meanwhile, Bayer has also trained explicitly for a possible penalty shootout. “Of course you have to be prepared for everything,” said the head of sport: “We’ll try in 90 minutes, but that’s also a way to get ahead.”
Match info on uefa.com
