In interview with bayer04.de, the 22-year-old talked about his own impressive development, interaction with his teammates on and off the pitch plus his role as en 'enforcer'.
Odi, with three wins in three games we can talk about a successful start to the season. What do you think are the reasons for that?
Kossounou: I think we have a different mentality this season. We are really on it and that's why our game is better. That process started in the pre-season and now we can see the result in the league. Everybody is performing well individually but, above all, also as a team. That gives us confidence.
How do you assess your development since your move to Leverkusen in the summer of 2021 and in which areas do you think you have made the biggest progress in?
Kossounou: There's a huge difference between the Belgian league and the Bundesliga. When I came here,I mainly needed to improve in the tactical area. Gerardo (Seoane, ed.) and Xabi (Alonso, ed.) both worked with me a lot to make me smarter. Now I've come on a long way.
Feeling good is a crucial factor in a good performance. Why are you so happy here in Leverkusen at the moment?
Kossounou: The atmosphere in the dressing room is brilliant – also the whole staff who work with you here everyday. Everybody gets on with each other. I look forward to coming here every day, training with the lads but also doing things away from the pitch. Of course, I'm very happy when my family can come to watch games but to be honest: The club now feels like a big family to me.
A good team is also needed for good individual performances. How did you see interaction in the defence and how do you communicate with each other?
Kossounou: In French. (He laughs) But not only the communication with the people next to me in Jona (Jonathan Tah, ed.) and Eddy (Edmond Tapsoba, ed.) is special. Each of us has different qualities and that produces a good mix and probably makes us so good as a group in the end. Eddy is strong on the ball and plays great passes. Jona is our leader in the centre, he communicates a lot and helps us and the team enormously with that. And I… My job is simply to keep every striker who gets close to us out of the way. That mostly works out really well. (He laughs)
The Easter holidays enticed a large number of Bayer 04 fans to come to the training ground at the BayArena, today Wednesday 16 April, to watch the Werkself at an open training session in the afternoon. Afterwards, the players and head coach Xabi Alonso took time out to sign autographs and pose for photographs. And there was a lot going on besides: While midfield maestro Granit Xhaka fielded questions at an entertaining children's press conference, including the story behind his squad number 34, Nathan Tella faced the media.
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Away fans take note: Tickets for the forthcoming away game for the Werkself against FC St Pauli at the Millerntor Stadium on Sunday, 20 April (kick-off: 19:30 CEST) are exclusively available on the Bayer 04 app. The tickets are available at once and as usual under the 'Profil' tab by clicking on the 'Meine Tickets' button.
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Flap up, screen on: With the help of the new Bayer 04 tactics truck, training content and match action for the Werkself as well as tactical graphics can now be shown and discussed on the training ground.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-1 draw against 1. FC Köln on the 19th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2024/25...
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The Bayer 04 Women shared the points in a 1-1 draw with FC Köln in an entertaining Rhine derby with lots of goalmouth action for both sides. The team led by coach Roberto Pätzold put in a great effort that deserved the three points particularly in the second half. The team next to bottom in the table, who took the lead before half-time, played with great passion and only conceded the equaliser scored by Cornelia Kramer (54') before the final whistle.
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