“Quite a bit has changed since the games last year against Roma – both with us and them,” Alonso stated at Wednesday’s press conference from the Stadio Olimpico. “There are new people at both teams. The styles of play have also changed somewhat.”
The change of approach at the Giallorossi is also down to their change of coach since club legend Daniele De Rossi took over from Jose Mourinho in January. “His style of play is clear to see. Their style has changed with the change of coach.”
The Werkself are now unbeaten in their last 46 competitive fixtures. The Bundesliga title is in the bag, but they’ve now got their sights on the next goal. “The desire and hunger to reach the final are absolutely there. It’s a second chance for us after last year, even though we know it’ll be difficult. Roma have shown their quality often enough in the Europa League this season. There’s also the spectacular atmosphere in the stadium here.” Some 2,400 fans have made the trip from Leverkusen to Rome to support their team.
The Werkself have arrived with a fully fit squad. Jonathan Tah went off with a knock against VfB Stuttgart but is available, as are forwards Adam Hlozek and Borja Iglesias after their respective injuries. While Alonso refused to state whether they would feature, the Spaniard did confirm that Matej Kovar will continue in goal in the competition.
Schick missed last season’s semi-final tie against his former club due to injury. “It makes me even happier to be back fit and healthy now. It’ll be nice to see some of my old teammates again,” the Czech striker said. One of those is new coach De Rossi. “He was a great player, a real leader on the pitch. And from what I’ve seen from a distance, he’s also doing a super job as a coach here at Roma. I think he’s got a very promising future ahead of him in this area.”
While the 28-year-old himself admitted that he “wasn’t yet ready for such a big club” during his time at Roma, he now feels he’s at exactly the right place following his 2019 move to the Bundesliga. “The speed, the way they press – I really like the style of football in Germany and in the Bundesliga. And then there’s also my teammates with huge quality. We now want to take the next step together.”
Daily changing special offers from the world of Bayer 04: The annual Black and Red week begins on Thursday, 28 November. You can look forward to unique offers and discount on fan merchandise up to and including Saturday, 30 November.
Show moreJonas Hofmann won't be available again for German double winners Bayer 04 Leverkusen for the remainder of the calendar year.
Show moreBayer 04 return to action after the international break with Matchday 11 of the Bundesliga as they host 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 at the BayArena today, Saturday 23 November (kick-off 15:30 CET). The Matchday News has everything you need to know ahead of the battle with the UEFA Conference League participants.
Show moreThe Bayer 04 Women are in the quarter-finals of the DFB Pokal. The team led by coach Roberto Pätzold's beat Bundesliga rivals Turbine Potsdam 1-0 on Friday night thanks to a first competitive goal scored by Sophie Zdebel. The midfielder netted the only goal of the game on 74 minutes. Twelve days ago, the Werkself beat the Potsdam team 3-0 in the league.
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