“The presentation of the Schale will be very special for us all. The team absolutely deserves this moment. But we have 90 minutes to play against Augsburg. Hopefully we can all celebrate with the same feeling after the final whistle,” said Alonso at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
Alonso: "we ask everybody not to invade the pitch"
In response to a question about a possible pitch invasion, the Spanish coach made his feelings clear: “What happened after the game against Bremen was a great moment and a brilliant celebration. But tomorrow is different: We want to receive the Schale on the pitch and we would like to do a lap of honour around the stadium as a team for the fans. Therefore, we ask all fans not to invade the pitch.”
A talking point at the press conference was the chance for the Black and Reds to be the first team to end a Bundesliga season undefeated. Alonso: “We know there could be a historic moment tomorrow. The match is very important, it’s also a sort of the final.” A win would see Bayer 04 also being only the second club in the history of the league to reach the 90 point mark.
Alonso did sound a warning about a Augsburg side where a win would also be of great significance: “We have to be fully focused going into the game. They want to end the season well. Augsburg have two strikers (Ermedin Demirovic and Phillip Tietz, ed.) who have a good connection to each other. That’s very dangerous.” The Demirovic and Tietz duo is one of the strongest in the league. Demirovic has clocked up 15 goals and ten assists, Tietz has scored eight and set up five goals – they are the top scorers and providers at FCA.
Wirtz set to face Augsburg
Alonso did not provide any insights into his starting line-up against Augsburg and potential rotation ahead of the two finals in the Europa League and the DFB Pokal. The Spanish again declared as so often this season: “We’re taking it game by game. From Monday we will fully focus on the next match.” Alonso did announce that Florian Wirtz is set to play against Augsburg. “He’s trained well over the past few days and he feels better. He hasn’t got any pain, that’s the most important thing. He could play from the start.”
Alonso also said: “I’m very happy with the team. We haven’t had many free weeks in the last two months. The mood and the energy in the dressing room are good. I really like the atmosphere at the moment. Everybody has great anticipation and ambition.”
Moment of memory
For the many fans no longer able to experience winning the first German league title, all fans at the BayArena are invited to take a moment on 19.04 minutes in the game and think of everybody who would have liked to celebrate these special moments too. Alonso: “It’s a very important and respectful action. It will definitely be very emotional. They deserve to be remembered by us.”
30,210 spectators will be at the BayArena for another full house for the final home game of the season. There will be 2,900 Augsburg fans at the match.
