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“We’re preparing with the same respect as we do against every other opponent and want to end the season with a positive feeling. That’s our goal,” Alonso stated on Friday afternoon.
The final game of the season is a crucial one for Mainz, who are enjoying the second-best campaign in their Bundesliga history. They come into the weekend in sixth place and in need of a win that would all but assure them a spot in the UEFA Conference League and a first continental qualification since 2016. “Mainz are having a good season. They’re a good team and have enjoyed a positive development. We’re expecting a hard game. We’ll give our all,” the Spaniard added.
Bayer 04 also have an objective of their own as they look to make it two full seasons without a defeat on the road in the Bundesliga and set a new league record of 34 away games unbeaten. “We always fight to win as many points as possible. It’d be very nice to reach that number,” Alonso stated.
The 43-year-old also used the press conference to look back on his nearly three years with the club. “The most important thing in my time here was always the belief that we could achieve our goals. We were able to take the team and also the club to a new level. All my players have developed excellently. I always really enjoyed it here – the work and life with my family. I’ll really miss it here. Bayer 04 will always stay in my heart.”
He also offered a final review on the season: “The toughest thing was to manage expectations. That was very challenging. We had a lot of draws this season, but the setbacks were also normal. My greatest fear after the success of last season was a big drop-off. That didn’t happen. It was a good season on the whole.”
Asked about the U19’s Bundesliga final against Köln at the BayArena this Sunday, Alonso said: “We’ll obviously be following that. The semi-final was very exciting. There are a lot of top young players in the U19s. Some of them have already trained with us before. It’s a sign of the good youth work being done at this club. Sergi [Runge] is a good coach and has a good connection with the players. It’ll be a great experience for them. They should enjoy it, ideally with a win.”
Over 20,000 tickets have already been sold for the final. You can still get yours HERE.
Alonso and his team can look forward to the support of 3,500 fans from Leverkusen in Mainz.
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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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 personalised 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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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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