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"The position in the table is irrelevant to us. Anything is possible in football," said Alonso at the start of the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The Spaniard sees Darmstadt as a team who "play with passion, fighting spirit and good motivation." Alonso will prepare his team for an intense encounter: "We have to control this emotional part of the game well. I've played at that stadium. There's always a good atmosphere there. Darmstadt are currently fighting very hard to avoid relegation. I have great respect for the coach and the spirit of the team."
The Werkself, who will complete the final pre-match training session on Friday afternoon, will then set off for Darmstadt. For the match against the Lilies, Alonso will again be able to call on Edmond Tapsoba and Amine Adli who have returned from the Africa Cup of Nations. Both went out of AFCON this week at the Round of 16 stage and they were back in Leverkusen on Thursday. The Spaniard refused to say whether the two Werkself players would feature against Darmstadt: "They've come back in good shape and are fit. They know situations like this. They will train with us again for the first time. For us it's really great to have more options again."
Alonso also kept his cards close to his chest with regard to other players who might find a place in the starting line-up. The head coach said of the winter signing Borja Iglesias: "He is fit and a good player with brilliant motivation. That's very important to us." On Granit Xhaka , who is currently on four yellow cards, Alonso said: “We'll see if he plays. We definitely have enough players to make that decision. Everybody's well prepared."
Alonso will have to manage without Odilon Kossounou, who is still at AFCON, plus the injured players Victor Boniface, Arthur and Exequiel Palacios. In response to a question about the fitness of the Argentinian World Cup winner, Alonso said: "He's doing better. We are hoping for a quick recovery but we want to take it at the right pace and not be too hasty. We will watch his progress day by day. We remain positive."
1,700 Bayer 04 fans will support the Werkself in Darmstadt. The allocation has been sold out. There will be no away ticket office at the game.
BIOGENA is the new performance partner for the Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women’s team. Under a partnership initially set to run for three years, the club and the leading Austrian micronutrient company are pooling their expertise in the areas of health, fitness and top-level performance.
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100 children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy had the chance to gain exclusive insights: As part of the summer camp, the young footballers headed inside the BayArena at midday on Tuesday, 21 July, where they were due to meet Werkself keepers Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch in the press conference room. The two players took plenty of time to answer every question from the inquisitive audience – whether it was about their own careers or their first impressions of the new head coach. Finally, there was even time left to sign autographs for the young fans.
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Alejo Sarco has left Bayer 04 Leverkusen to join Sporting Gijón in Spain’s second division. Bayer 04 have secured a buy-back clause for the 20-year-old Argentine striker, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed 16-year-old midfield prospect Gabriel Minutillo on a long-term contract. The Germany youth international will play for the U19s this season.
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