Back
17.04.2024Werkself-TV

Alonso ahead of #WHUB04: “The players give me no doubt”

After the week’s celebrations of the club’s first ever league title, Bayer 04 are now focused once again on their UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg away at West Ham United on Thursday (kick-off: 9pm CEST). The Werkself are in a good position with a 2-0 lead from the first game, but it’s not over yet, as head coach Xabi Alonso and midfielder Granit Xhaka stressed at their pre-match press conference in London on Wednesday evening.

Display videos

Yes, I'd like to see videos dispalyed.

Xhaka called London home for seven years during his time at Arsenal and said he had a “great time here”. Now the Switzerland international returns for the first time with Bayer 04 and is preparing for an encounter at the London Stadium, where the 31-year-old experienced a number of exciting match-ups. “There are regularly over 60,000 people in the stadium. Same again tomorrow. And they definitely won’t be there for us. But we come here with great confidence from the first leg and want to progress. That’s clear,” he said.

Xhaka: “We’re very hungry”

When asked, the midfielder didn’t want the weekend’s title celebrations to be an excuse for Thursday. “Obviously we celebrated a little, but within reason. We have a big task ahead of us again tomorrow. We want to reach the semi-finals. We’re very hungry.”

Coach Alonso is expecting a “hard game. West Ham showed Freiburg that they can overcome a first-leg defeat.” The Hammers had lost 1-0 in Germany in their round of 16 tie but then progressed thanks to a 5-0 win back at home. “We’ll play our game and definitely won’t just defend. That’s not our way,” he added.

Granit Xhaka

The Spaniard firmly believes that the Werkself will again perform well in this second leg: “The players give me no doubt about believing in them. Their concentration, focus and hunger are special.”

More than 3,000 travelling fans

The Werkself can count on the support of over 3,000 travelling fans from Leverkusen for a sold-out away section at the London Stadium.

One person who isn’t in the UK capital is Borja Iglesias. “He’s got muscular problems. We need to wait and see how things are with him in the coming days. It could well be that he also misses Dortmund. We need to see with him and Adam Hlozek whether they’ll be ready for the Stuttgart game,” explained Alonso, who otherwise has a full squad at his disposal. And they are all ready, as the coach explained, since “we want to take our big chance in the Europa League as well.”

Related News

Partnerschaft der Bayer 04-Frauen mit BIOGENA
Women - 22.07.2026

BIOGENA new performance partner for Bayer 04 Women

BIOGENA is the new performance partner for the Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women’s team. Under a partnership initially set to run for three years, the club and the leading Austrian micronutrient company are pooling their expertise in the areas of health, fitness and top-level performance.

Show more
Kids-PK mit Janis Blaswich und Simeon Rapsch
Football Academy - 22.07.2026

‘I was a striker for a long time’: Kids’ press conference with Blaswich and Rapsch

100 children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy had the chance to gain exclusive insights: As part of the summer camp, the young footballers headed inside the BayArena at midday on Tuesday, 21 July, where they were due to meet Werkself keepers Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch in the press conference room. The two players took plenty of time to answer every question from the inquisitive audience – whether it was about their own careers or their first impressions of the new head coach. Finally, there was even time left to sign autographs for the young fans.

Show more
Alejo Sarco
Bayer 04 - 21.07.2026

Alejo Sarco joins Sporting Gijón

Alejo Sarco has left Bayer 04 Leverkusen to join Sporting Gijón in Spain’s second division. Bayer 04 have secured a buy-back clause for the 20-year-old Argentine striker, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Show more
Gabriel Minutillo
Bayer 04 - 20.07.2026

Bayer 04 agree long-term deal with Gabriel Minutillo

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed 16-year-old midfield prospect Gabriel Minutillo on a long-term contract. The Germany youth international will play for the U19s this season.

Show more