Alonso ahead of #B04TSG: ‘I'm in the right place, I'm staying at Bayer 04'

At the start of the press conference on Good Friday, Alonso explained his decision in English: "Last week I had a very good meeting with Simon [Rolfes] and Fernando [Carro] when I informed them of my decision to continue being coach of Bayer Leverkusen." And he added: "I feel that this is the right place for me to develop as a coach. I have a good feeling as a young coach. I feel that my job is not over here. I want to help them, I want to help the team, I want to help the young players develop. And if I'm part of the process then I'm happy with that."

Alonso said he used the international break to reflect. The Spanish coach stated: "Once I had taken the decision it was important to share the decision with everyone because I need to give them back the respect they have shown me. I am grateful to these people as well that they believe; the fans, my staff, the players. Now everything is clear and we have two months to give full gas and fight for something that could be great for this club." Alonso shared his decision with his players ahead of the training session on Friday morning.

full focus on Hoffenheim

Alonso said he is fully focused on the home game against Hoffenheim. TSG come to Leverkusen full of confidence lying eighth in the table. Pellegrino Matarazzo's team is one of three in the Bundesliga who have picked up more points on the road than they have at home. Hoffenheim rank sixth for away points with 20 from 13 games.

The 19 Werkself players away on international duty have all returned fit and well. In addition to Arthur, only Exequiel Palacios and Victor Boniface are ruled out for the game against TSG but they are expected to return to the matchday squad soon.

In the few training sessions with the squad this week, there was great excitement amongst the players ahead of the next match for Bayer 04 with all the home sections at the BayArena sold out. Alonso said: "You could see the lads were happy to be together again. We have two crucial months coming up that starts with tomorrow's important game against Hoffenheim."

TRAVEL UPDATE

Due to roadworks on Robert-Blum-Straße / Im Eisholz there will be delays getting to and from the match. Traffic on Robert-Blum-Straße will be controlled via temporary traffic lights. Montessoriweg will be a one-way street. We advise fans to leave in good time to get to the BayArena and recommend using the public transport network, the shuttle bus service and bicycles. The roadworks are due to last to 5 April.