Alonso ahead of #B04SVW: “Full respect for Bremen, nothing is a given”

“Obviously there’s this special aspect to the game on Sunday. We have the chance to be champions. But we’re only focusing on the game itself and want to play with our usual quality and mentality,” Alonso stated at his press conference on Friday. The Spaniard added: “We don’t want to think too much about eventualities. We’ll prepare normally for the game. Luckily, it’s not the only chance we have to be champions. But we’re playing at home and want to take our first chance.”

“Prefer to settle it ourselves”

Alonso said of the fact that Bayer 04 could be champions the day before if Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart both lose their games: “That would be a very big surprise. Normally that won’t happen. Honestly, we’d prefer to settle it ourselves on the pitch.”

Werder come to the BayArena on a run of six games without a win. “Bremen are a good opponent. They play with a clear idea. We’ll approach the game with full respect, because nothing is a given. We saw that last season at Dortmund. Our heads are now on Bremen. We’re in a good situation and are focusing fully on Sunday,” Alonso added.

“Fans deserve to celebrate”

There are set to be 30,210 fans, including 3,000 from Bremen, coming to the sold-out BayArena on Sunday. When asked of a potential pitch invasion by supporters, Alonso said: “The most important thing is that the fans can celebrate properly. They deserve that. But we still have a few games left to play on this pitch. We need the pitch still.”