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A return to the Bundesliga after five years is a "great honour" for Xabi Alonso. Two days ahead of his debut as head coach with the Werkself against Schalke 04, the 2010 World Cup winner answered questions from the media in German and English: "I've continued to follow the Bundesliga and it gets stronger every year. That makes me more motivated for Saturday. It's time to get to work."
Alonso’s playing career ended five years ago. In his time as a player, the former world class midfielder picked up a host of titles in England, Spain and Germany including winning the Champions League twice and the World Cup with Spain in 2010. The Basque footballer learned from some of the best coaches in the world: Pep Guardiola, Rafael Benitez, Carlo Ancelotti, José Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini. "The most important thing I learned is that players have to follow and trust you as a coach."
Today, on his first day at the club, Alonso wants to hold a lot of discussions with his players. "We want to play modern football. That means: intensity with and without the ball, being active rather than passive and with a strong mentality. The team has to know how we want to play. Dominant, intensive, controlled. We have to regain the winning mentality – and that from the kick-off to the final whistle," said Alonso.
Talking about his approach to his coaching debut at Bayer 04 in Saturday's game against Schalke 04, the Spaniard explained: "We have to work in a targeted manner. I'm not looking at May but rather at the next game. I will try to give the players clear instructions and ideas. I'd like to help them to produce a new energy to be able to revive a big winning mentality."
Simon Rolfes was also at the press conference. The sporting managing director thanked Alonso's predecessor Gerardo Seoane for his work over the past 18 months. Rolfes described the new coach as an absolute leadership personality and a leader on the pitch: "For us, it was quickly clear from the first discussions with Xavi Alonso that we wanted to complete this move as he is absolutely the right man. Everybody knows his career as a player. The feedback from people who have worked with him was consistently positive. They absolutely believe he has a career as a coach." Rolfes described the playing style of the Spaniard as dominant and dynamic: "He fits in perfectly with our philosophy and our players."

After retiring as a player in 2017, Alonso moved from the pitch to the dugout. He started working with the U14 team at Real Madrid and was then head coach of the Real Sociedad second team back home in the Basque country. Alonso has had a number of job offers in recent years. But it was only in discussions with Simon Rolfes that he felt the move to Leverkusen was "the right step at the right time."

The penultimate Bundesliga matchday of the calendar year marks the end of an eventful first half of the season for the Bayer 04 Women. After seven wins, one draw and four defeats from the first twelve games of the season, coach Roberto Pätzold's team can go above Werder Bremen in the table with a win on Friday, 12 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET).
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The third showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 kicks off for the Leverkusen eSports team this Thursday, 11 December (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Red will once again take on six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round, which will take place at this third showdown on 19 December in Cologne. Showdown One winners Bayer 04 will face FC St. Pauli, who won the second showdown last month, among others. The lowdown on first three opponents in this online preliminary round.
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Alejandro Grimaldo, of course! With his late equaliser (88') in the Champions League clash against Newcastle United, the Spaniard rescued a point for the Werkself, who took the lead through an own goal by Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes (13') but went with two goals for the visitors scored by Anthony Gordon (51') and Lewis Miley (74'). It was the third draw for Bayer 04 in the current 2025/26 campaign on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase.
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The Werkself will be looking to continue their run in the Champions League against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 21:00 CET). The two victories without conceding a goal at Benfica (1:0) and Manchester City (2-0) will hopefully be followed by a win at home at the BayArena. Against the English side, who have a player with a Black and Red past in their ranks, the way to victory could be through efficiency in attack and quick transitional play. The latter in particular has recently caused the Magpies problems away from home on the European stage. Fans can also get the stylish matchday sticker for their Sound of Dreams tour pass at the Bayer 04 Fanwelt. The matchday news.
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For the first time ever, Bayer 04 have reached the knockout phase of the UEFA Youth League. At the end of the league phase, the Leverkusen U19s secured a 2-1 home win against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December. Montrell Culbreath scored before half-time and Ferdinand Pohl doubled the lead after the restart in the clash with the English side. The UCL youth competition continues at the beginning of February with the Round of 32, which will be played away from home without a second leg.
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