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"We have the chance of reaching the semi-finals. Of course, there is great anticipation. We are very motivated," declared Xabi Alonso at the pre-match press conference on Monday afternoon. "Tomorrow we want to be focused, intelligent and play with quality and to win we need our best performance and the support of our fans."
The Spaniard was keen to totally blank out the forthcoming Bundesliga big match against Bayern Munich in four days time. "Our focus is now on the next game. That's always the most important thing," said Alonso who does not feel any additional pressure in relation to the clashes with Stuttgart and Bayern. "There's always pressure in professional football. And that's before every game regardless of the opponents and the competition."
On the opponents from Stuttgart, who are currently third in the league, Alonso said: "I like the way they play. Intelligent and flexible. They absolutely deserve to be where they are in the table." The last league match between Bayer 04 and VfB Stuttgart in December of last year ended all square at 1-1. "It was a very intense game. We can learn something from that game and apply it."
In terms of personnel, nobody is ruled out after the physical league encounter in Darmstadt (2-0). Also, Edmond Tapsoba and Amine Adli are ready to play on Tuesday evening following their return from AFCON. In contrast, the cup tie comes too early for Exequiel Palacios even though Alonso believes the Argentinian is "progressing well."
The head coach is giving another start to goalkeeper Matej Kovar who played in the previous two DFB-Pokal ties. Alonso on the Czech keeper: "He showed his great potential last season at Sparta Prague and was impressive here in training from the start. On top of that are his good performances in the DFB-Pokal and the Europa League. He's earned the chance to play again tomorrow."
The DFB-Pokal quarter-final is being shown on the pay-TV broadcaster Sky and on the terrestrial TV channel ARD. Coverage from the BayArena starts on both channels at 20.15 CET. As usual, Werkself Radio will be covering the game from 15 minutes before kick-off.
Attacking midfielder Paulina Bartz is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen for good on a permanent move to Hamburger SV in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga. The 21-year-old, who was on loan to the newly promoted side in the winter, originally had a contract to 2027.
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The Bayer 04 Football School opened in 2007 – now this successful programme is getting a new name and a new logo: with immediate effect, the Bayer 04 Football School powered by BarmeniaGothaer is becoming the Bayer 04 Football Academy powered by BarmeniaGothaer.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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The FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico is underway. A total of eight Leverkusen players are taking part in the 23rd World Cup, with 48 teams in the tournament for the first time. Bayer04.de brings you all the latest from Werkself players at the World Cup.
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