Alonso ahead of #FCKB04: “Hunger and desire even greater after Wednesday”

“It was a long road. We’ve been fighting since August. Now we’re finally here. It’s the last game of the season. We want to end it with a good feeling and with the cup in our hands,” said Werkself boss Xabi Alonso. After Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat in the UEFA Europa League final against Atalanta, the Spaniard appeared fully focused again. “Dublin is done. Our analysis of the game was short because we had to and wanted to look ahead again. The loss has no great influence anymore, but we progress further through experiences like that. We’ll continue to do our thing.”

Hradecky: “Here to make up for Wednesday”

Captain Lukas Hradecky also spoke about his team’s first defeat in a year: “We knew straight away that we didn’t play with the Bayer DNA in Dublin. We were favourites and didn’t do it justice. We’re expecting that role again tomorrow.” The goalkeeper therefore had a warning: “We have to be careful that we don’t fall into the same trap again. We need to control the game from the start. We’re here to make up for Wednesday.”

Alonso: “Being favourites means nothing”

Alonso also stressed that “being favourites means nothing. We need to show on the pitch that we deserve it. The pain is still fresh in us. We need to use that. The hunger and desire is even greater after Wednesday.”

In terms of the opposition, the 42-year-old is expecting a “dynamic and flexible team with a direct and quick approach.” Kaiserslautern are the first club from outside the Bundesliga to reach the DFB Pokal final since 2011. Talking about his opposite number Friedhelm Funkel, Alonso said: “It’s a great honour for me to play against coaches like him or Christian Streich. They’ve made history in football. In contrast, I’m still a young coach. It’s an intense job. I have the chance to learn a lot from them.”

In turn, Funkel said of Bayer 04: “Leverkusen are very professional. We’re going to be faced with an extremely tough task.” When asked why Funkel had said back in December that he was sure the Werkself would win the Bundesliga, the 70-year-old explained: “I was still retired then [laughs]. I often went to the BayArena and watched their games. It was just impressive how the team played.”

Hradecky in goal

In terms of team selection, Alonso was typically coy, except for the position of goalkeeper. The Spaniard confirmed that Hradecky will start in goal tomorrow. “Matej [Kovar] and Lukas have both had a very good season, so both deserve to play one of the finals each.” Alonso was also full of praise for midfielder Robert Andrich: “Rob always has a very good attitude, whether he comes off the bench or starts. He’s always a leader.” However, he refused to say whether the 29-year-old would feature from the off against Kaiserslautern.

27,000 Bayer 04 fans in Berlin

Thousands of Werkself fans have been making their way to the capital since this morning, and many more will follow tomorrow via road, rail and air. A total of 27,000 will support Alonso’s men inside the Olympiastadion on Saturday evening. You can find out more about the team’s build-up in Berlin in our live blog and across the club’s social channels.