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“The feeling and mood within the team are good and all of us are really looking forward to the final,” said Xabi Alonso on Wednesday afternoon. “After winning the league, we can achieve great success in the Europa League and then the DFB Pokal as well.”
The opponents in the final, Atalanta, are fifth in the table in Serie A and on course for a Champions League finish also thanks to current impressive form with 13 points gained in the last five league games. Like the Werkself, the North Italian side are in the final of the Italian cup competition with Juventus providing the opposition tonight in the Coppa Italia. In the Europa League, they have knocked out Sporting CF, Liverpool and Olympique Marseille. “Atalanta are currently one of the toughest opponents in Europe,” said Alonso.
The 42-year-old Spaniard shared words of praise for his fellow coach Gian Piero Gasperini. The 66-year-old Italian has coached Atalanta since the summer of 2016. Alonso: “He has a clear plan and built up a team with strong mentality and high quality in depth. They are a top team. We’ll have a chance if we produce our best form. It will be a great final, very tight and interesting for the fans.”
While Alonso won nearly every competition in his time as a player, winning the Europa League remains to be achieved. He can now make that up as a head coach. Asked about that, the title-winning Leverkusen coach declared: “My trophies as a player are in the past. Now it’s time to win titles as a coach.”.
The fact this season has turned out to be such a great success was something Alonso did not foresee last summer. “We have a clear target of qualifying for the Champions League. On top of that, we wanted to play good and attractive football. Winning the Bundesliga and being in two finals was not necessarily realistic in August. But after two or three games we saw early on what was possible and that we could achieve something exceptional”
One factor in the success, named by Alonso, is day-to-day work plus open communication between the players and the coaching staff. “We learn from each other every day and I’ve learned a lot as a coach in the time up to now. We have done very well so far even though there have been a couple of mistakes of course. Now we will focus fully on the last Bundesliga game and prepare for the two finals.”
It's finally Champions League time again! Under the motto 'Sound of Dreams', the Werkself's European journey begins on Thursday 18 September (kick-off 18:45 CEST) at FC Copenhagen. The Danes relied on their experience and solid defence in particular to come through qualifying. Nevertheless, their record against German teams is not good, and Bayer 04 also have positive memories of their previous two encounters with FCK. The Matchday News rounds up all the info on the match.
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The opener in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26: On Thursday, 18 September (kick-off: 18:45 CEST), the Werkself will kick off the new UCL campaign at FC Copenhagen. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about his return to Parken, the Danish record champions' home ground. Goalkeeper Mark Flekken, for his part, was looking forward to his first Champions League game.
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Bayer 04's new coach Kasper Hjulmand will kick off the league phase of the UEFA Champions League in his home country: The Danish double winners FC Copenhagen welcome the Werkself to the Parken Stadium on Thursday, 18 September (kick-off: 18:45 CEST/live on DAZN). Hjulmand not only knows the stadium, but also some of the FC Copenhagen players from his time as the Denmark coach. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 are away to FC Copenhagen on the first matchday of the league phase in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League. The game against the Danish record champions is on Thursday, 18 September (kick-off: 18:45 CEST) at the Parken Stadium. Ahead of the match, here are some travel tips from Bayer 04 partner weloveholidays for all travelling fans of the Werkself.
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