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"Atlético are one of the top sides in Europe and the best team in the group without denigrating the other clubs. They have developed impressively in recent years and achieved incredible success on the national and European stages," said Gerardo Seoane in describing the forthcoming opponents who were able to beat the Portuguese champions Porto in a 2-1 win in the opening group match.
The Madrid side are difficult to play against and they arrive with a "very complete squad," said the Swiss coach. And he added: "Atlético have two high-quality players for every position." Therefore training this week not only focused on the starting eleven but also on players coming off the bench. Seoane praised the high quality of the attack as well as the compact and aggressive defending of the team led by Atlético head coach Diego Simeone. He believes the Spaniards "always pose a threat."
In contrast to the 1-0 defeat at Club Brugge and the 2-2 draw at Hertha Berlin there will be a need to "be more resolute in both penalty areas," said Seoane. In addition to more consistency in attack there was also the requirement for resolute challenges in defence. The Swiss coach primarily sees two points as crucial: "They will try to involve us in lots of challenges as that's part of their style of play. So we have to remain patient and make use of the few chances that will come to us." Above all, that needs a fast passing game and the ability to switch sides to "bring the attacking players into the right positions," declared the 43-year-old boss.
Defender Piero Hincapie showed he is also highly motivated ahead of his first Champions League match on home turf: "We want to produce a great game for our fans. The Champions League presents us with extra motivation and we want to show that on the pitch." Hincapie added: "We are going through a difficult time at the moment as a team and as a club. But we’re working on it together every day and we've prepared well."
The Ecuadorian was also clear about the current atmosphere in the dressing room: "We deal openly with criticism as a team, directly address lots of points as we want to help each other improve and support each other. Of course, we are concerned about it. But that doesn't mean the atmosphere amongst us is bad. We stand together."
In addition to long-term injuries Florian Wirtz, Amine Adli, Karim Bellarabi and Andrey Lunev, Seoane will have to manage without midfielder Exequiel Palacios. The Argentinian suffered an injury to his left thigh in the last match in Berlin.
Bayer 04 entertain third-placed VfB Stuttgart in the penultimate Bundesliga home game. The match at the BayArena is today Saturday 27 April (kick-off: 18.30 CEST/live on Sky and on Werkself Radio). The latest information on the game, with fans again asked to follow traffic information, is here in the news in brief.
Show moreAfter three consecutive weeks of playing midweek, the Werkself have been preparing for the top-of-the-table clash against VfB Stuttgart over the past few days. Ahead of the home game on Saturday 27 April (kick-off 18:30 CEST, live on Sky), head coach Xabi Alonso praised the third-placed visitors and gave an update on the state of the pitch as well as personnel.
Show moreThere's no question: VfB Stuttgart are one of the biggest surprises of this season and have delighted their fans with exciting, successful attacking football. After suffering a rare defeat at Bremen last weekend, third-placed VfB are looking to get back to winning ways in this Saturday's big match against the Werkself (kick-off 18:30 CEST). The visitors will be without their playmaker in midfield, though. A look at our next opponents...
Show moreWhether at school, in grassroots sports or at the football stadium – racism and discrimination of all kinds are still prevalent in our society. For this reason, Bayer 04 has been organising preventative school workshops on the subject of racism for many years. This week, one of these workshops took place at the Lise-Meitner-Gymnasium not far from the BayArena as part of the Wiesdorf district matchday - and with a prominent guest: Werkself star Jonathan Tah worked intensively with the pupils on the topic. The German champion and international also spoke about his personal experiences with racism.
Show moreBayer 04 aren’t just the new champions of Germany but are also leading the way in engaging young fans after becoming the first Bundesliga club to release its own Pixi children’s book. Captain Lukas Hradecky and Josip Stanisic presented the 24-page publication entitled ‘Ein neuer Löwe für die Werkself’ (A new lion for the Werkself) at a reading for children in the BayArena's Schwadbud.
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