SportBILD award: Werkself named Team of the Year

On behalf of Bayer 04, a small delegation made up of Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, sporting managing director Sport Simon Rolfes and midfielder Exequiel Palacios accepted the award in Hamburg. The World Cup winner and two-time Copa América winner, who is currently in rehab, travelled to Hamburg representing the whole team who are preparing for the DFB Pokal first round tie at FC Carl Zeiss Jena (Wednesday, 28 August, 18.00 CEST).

Carro: "success very important to us and the fans"

Talking about last season’s honours, Fernando Carro said: “They are not only very important for us but also all the fans who wanted the trophies so much.”

Simon Rolfes said: “The success was primarily down to our good team. A very good spirit has been created in the team and the club.” That’s always given us a special energy.”

Alonso: "players are the most important part"

Head coach Xabi Alonso joined a live link to the event. The 42-year-old spoke about the success of last season as follows: “The players are the most important part for me. We had a good mix of young and experienced players and a very good feeling from the start. Our target was to play good football and at some point we felt we had the chance to win the title. That season remains unforgettable for us all.”

In addition, Alonso explained why he decided to stay at the Werkself before the end of the season: “There’s great confidence in me here. This season is my third as a coach for a professional club. I had to show what I could do as a coach here. But I’ve also still got a lot to learn. I learn from players in every game and every training session. We’re starting from scratch now and we want to perform well again.”

In the presence of 600 guests from the world of sport, SportBILD presented awards in nine categories.