Xabi Alonso, successful centenary in Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen’s match this Saturday against Holstein Kiel at the BayArena will have a double incentive: first, to try to put pressure on Bayern Munich in the battle for the Bundesliga leadership; the second, that his coach, the Spaniard xabi alonso He will face his hundredth match since he sat on the bench of the current German champions.

A hundred games that changed the history of a club always haunted by an aura of defeat and doomed to final misfortune, which the Basque coach has completely changed after winning the first Bundesliga in its history last season, in addition to the FA Cup, both titles without losing a game. They suffered just one defeat last year, in the Europa League final against Atalanta (3-0), which prevented them from achieving the incredible treble.

Maximum concentration versus below

But Xabi Alonso remains grounded and has now said, ahead of Saturday’s clash against last-placed Holstein Kiel, that if his team are not “stupid”, he will concentrate “just like against Bayern Munich and Milan” , his last two rivals. They drew against the leader on Saturday at the Allianz Arena (1-1) and against the Rossoneri they won on Tuesday on the second day of the Champions League (1-0).

In the press conference before the match on the sixth day of the Bundesliga against the bottom team Holstein Kiel, where Leverkusen will release a commemorative t-shirt for the 120th anniversary of his foundation, the man from Tolosa hopes that his team is “smart and mature, and not stupid” because, “otherwise” they will not have “good thoughts.”

“Kiel is a good rival, they have good ideas. We have to be intense with the ball and especially without the ball,” said Xabi Alonso.

Rotations

The Basque indicated that he will make changes to the starting eleven compared to the last two games: “I always say that we need all the players. The squad is good and we have depth. We are in three competitions. The Bundesliga is always the most important for me “I have full confidence in all the players,” he said.

In that sense, he was particular in the situation of midfielder Jonas Hofmann, with whom so far he has had very little experience at the beginning of the season (he has only participated in two games).

“Maybe he’s going through a moment where he’s not playing much. It doesn’t mean he’s not important throughout the season. I have confidence in him and I know Jonas well, he’s an experienced player and I’m sure he’ll be ready when we need him ,” concluded Xabi Alonso.