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“Every game is hard. We’ve learned that. I’m expecting my team to play with intelligence and maturity. We’re preparing with full respect, just as well as we did against Bayern or Milan,” Alonso stressed on Friday afternoon.
Kiel are playing in the Bundesliga for the first time in their history this season but sit bottom of the table after five games. Their only point so far has come from a 2-2 draw away at Bochum. Asked about the promoted side, Alonso said: “They may have only one point, but normally they’d earn more. They’re a good team who play well. They have a young and aspiring coach in Marcel Rapp. I’ve analysed Holstein Kiel well. They’ve done some fantastic things in the past. We need to be ready for them.”
Alonso was also asked about potential rotation given the intensity of the past week with two big games. “It could be that other players play, but we’ll see what happens. We have a good squad and all the players are ready to play. They show a top attitude in every training session. The important thing is that we build on our good defensive work. It’s worked better the last few times. We kept a clean sheet against Milan. That was important, and now we want that as well in the Bundesliga.”
Saturday’s game is Alonso’s 100th in charge of the Werkself in all competitions. It will also be exactly two years since he took over on 5 October 2022. Asked about his spell at the helm so far, he said: “A lot has happened, and we’ve all been through a lot together. The development of the entire club and the team is great, and I’m proud to be a part of this process. I’ve learned a lot, and at times it was very hard. I won’t forget the first few months in particular. I hope we can celebrate together with a win tomorrow.”
The Spaniard was also asked to give a summary of the season so far after eight games, saying: “It’s still very early. We’re making good progress and still in all competitions. But we’re still only thinking one game at a time, one block at a time. We want to end this block before the international break with a win against Kiel.”
The BayArena is already sold out for this final game before the international break, including around 2,800 travelling Kiel supporters.

This evening was deeply moving: At a really special setting, Bayer 04 exclusively presented the specially produced documentary ‘Fierté Burkinabè’ ("Burkinabe Pride") about Edmond Tapsoba on Tuesday. For the preview at the BayArena, the parents of the Werkself player and other close companions travelled all the way from his African homeland Burkina Faso. The 45-minute film shows Tapsoba's extraordinary career from his beginnings in Ouagadougou to Leverkusen as well as the work of his foundation "Fondation Edmond Tapsoba", with representatives from Burkina Faso also present. Fans can watch the documentary free of charge on Werkself TV and YouTube from Wednesday night at 20:00 CEST.
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Bayer 04 have signed left-back Carolin Simon from champions Bayern Munich for the coming season. The 33-year-old former Germany international, who played for Leverkusen from 2013 to 2016, has signed a contract to 30 June 2028.
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Bayer 04 Women have strengthened for the coming season with the signing of Lobke Loone. The 23-year-old Dutch striker joins from Utrecht on a contract until 30 June 2028.
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The Werkself returned from the near one-month break in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga with a convincing victory at home. Roberto Pätzold's side beat SC Freiburg 4-1 on Sunday afternoon, with goals from Katharina Piljic, Estrella Merino Gonzalez, Cornelia Kramer and Carlotta Wamser ensuring a 13th win of the season at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. The Black and Reds, who are now on 40 points, move up to fourth place at least overnight.
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