Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso gave an extended commentary to the UEFA press service on the eve of the Europa League final against Atalanta.
Xabi Alonso (photo: gettyimages.com)On the transition to coaching
- When I was a footballer, I was very interested in the game, opponents, training and asked questions about why certain things happened. As a midfielder, this helped me develop and expand my knowledge of the game. I started coaching Real Madrid's U-13 team, then I coached Real Sociedad's reserve team for three years, which helped me a lot, and now I'm getting my first professional experience here at Bayer Leverkusen, and so far everything is going well.
It is very important to create confidence and reliability, to unite the team, to develop a good daily dynamic; all of this strengthens the players' desire to achieve our goals. Then you need to convince each player and offer an idea that they can follow. You need to be close to your players to understand them, and then you will know how to demand more from them. They will make mistakes, but you can't keep holding them accountable. You also need to be a great psychologist.
On Bayer's current season
- I think it's all about the stability and level of our game, our psychological stability and our concentration. In terms of psychological readiness and concentration, the team hasn't had any disasters or even any critical moments during games, and that's what allowed us to have such an exceptional season. It all comes down to the level of play and the mentality we build.
We were competitive in every match, no matter how we played - good or bad. We played well in most of the games, but we didn't give up in the ones where we didn't do so well. This says a lot about how determined the team is in its preparation for matches. We took every game very seriously. We prepared very well, and this requires a lot of physical, game and moral effort.
On the possibility of finishing the season without defeat
- This event would be historic. We can write ourselves in golden letters not only in the history of our club, but also in the history of European football. I hope we can do it.
On Atalanta's opponent in the final
- It will be a very intense match against a very difficult opponent with clear ideas, an experienced coach who has been working with the team for a long time, and great players who have been playing together for many years and know each other well. We will play based on our ideas, our style and our enthusiasm. We will hope to win, but we will also fight like we always do. We know Atalanta well, there are no secrets here. They also know us well. I hope we will have a great match.
Winning the European Cup would be a significant event for me. I would like to share it with the fans and everyone involved with our club. You saw how happy they were when we won the Bundesliga. A new European Cup trophy, won after a long pause (winning the UEFA Cup in 1988 - ed.), would be a historic achievement. We really want to win it in this historic season.
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