Xabi Alonso: “Finishing unbeaten is something written in golden letters in history”

Xabi Alonsocoach of Bayer Leverkusensaid Tuesday that in Wednesday’s Europa League final against Atalanta It will be anything but simple.

“We have to be variable, use changes of pace. Keep control, but also know if a long pass is better than a short pass. “It will be a tough match, against a very demanding opponent, with very clear ideas, with a coach who has been with them for a long time and players who have been together for many years and know each other very well and one.”said the Spanish coach at the press conference before the final in Dublin.

Regarding his rival, he assured that he knows the Italian team well: “Sometimes they defend aggressively and sometimes they wait. We have to adapt, we also have to play well against the ball because they have great players. We know Atalanta very well and there is no secret. They will also get to know us well. “I hope the game goes well.”

Xabi Alonso He didn’t want to give any clues about the lineup he would use and several times he answered “we’ll see tomorrow” to questions about it. “We need all the players. They are all important. One of the keys to our success is that they all made their contribution and were key in some moments. We need them to go to the limit tomorrow,” he said.

It’s not just any final. Bayer Leverkusen also has the challenge of finishing the season unbeaten, setting a precedent for something no one has achieved. “I think it’s because of the consistency and our performance level, the mental level, our concentration level. In terms of our mentality and concentration level, the team hardly suffered any disaster or a single bad moment in any game , and that allowed us to have an exceptional season But everything has to do with the performance and the mentality we have developed,” said the native of San Sebastian, warning that “We were competitive in all the games, whether we played well or not. We played well in most games, but we didn’t give up on those when we didn’t play well. It 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.”

So, when asked what achieving it entailed, Alonso did not hesitate to prove that “It will be historic. Something that will be written in golden letters, not only in the history of our club, but perhaps in all of European football. I hope we can.”

Midfielder Graniy’s first goal, but tomorrow we have to give everything for another title,” he highlighted.

Defender Jonathan Tah pointed to the excellent season Leverkusen has had and said it gives the team strength and confidence for Wednesday’s clash and also for Saturday, when they play in the German Cup final against Kaiserslautern.