Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso on remarkable season and reaching UEFA Europa League final with draw against Roma
Bay Arena, Leverkusen, Germany
Bay Arena, Leverkusen, Germany
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00:00 Good evening everyone. Welcome to this game between Bayern Leverkusen and AS Roma.
00:05 It's a 2-2 draw.
00:07 The coach has given the final draw for the entire team tomorrow.
00:12 So we'll be drawing the points tomorrow and all those who have questions about the game against Bochum,
00:22 please feel free to ask them today.
00:24 Xabi, first of all, your statement.
00:27 We're happy to be in Dublin and to have another final in a week.
00:37 It's incredible.
00:40 We put in a lot of effort today.
00:42 We showed a lot of character after the second goal from Roma.
00:48 I saw in the young players' eyes that they believed we could come back.
00:55 We're very happy and proud of the team.
01:01 Now we have the big goal of winning three titles.
01:10 We're very happy.
01:13 The young players deserve it.
01:16 Thank you Xabi.
01:17 Now Aci from ESPN.
01:19 Hi Xabi.
01:22 Hello.
01:24 How?
01:25 I think that Carlo explained quite well yesterday.
01:29 It's difficult to explain these kinds of situations.
01:33 Once over and over again, I'm kind of speechless again that we were able to score,
01:42 to come back, to show this character and not to lose the game.
01:47 Overall I think that they totally deserve not to do it.
01:50 Even before the first goal, before the second one, we had created so many chances.
01:57 We were so close.
01:58 But this is about scoring.
02:00 We were not doing that.
02:02 We were so close.
02:04 That's why when we have shown great character, I think that I've said the boys kept having the confidence
02:17 that we were in the right way.
02:18 Even after 2-0, you can have a few doubts, you can lose control, you try to change the way you're playing.
02:25 But we kept doing the right things.
02:27 For sure it was important, but it was totally deserved.
02:31 At the end, again, we scored the equaliser that it feels even greater to reach this way the final.
02:38 Philipp Ahrens from Bild.
02:40 Xabi, congratulations on the second final of your head coach career.
02:46 One person who has been very busy with us on the stand was Florian Wirtz.
02:51 You brought him in the 81st minute and it seemed that he wasn't really fit or energetic.
02:59 Not the Florian Wirtz we know.
03:03 Is it still a thing from this game against Dortmund where he got a blow?
03:08 Yes, it's the same blow.
03:12 He didn't recover quickly enough.
03:16 But now we have a break.
03:19 He's not playing this week.
03:22 So yes, it was very clear.
03:24 He couldn't run well.
03:27 He was limping.
03:29 He was limping.
03:30 But he wanted to help the team.
03:33 I also have to help.
03:37 70 percent.
03:39 Flo is a good player.
03:42 We had a good influence from Flo.
03:46 Now he needs a little more time.
03:49 It's just a blow, but we need time.
03:53 But you're not worried about the two final games.
03:57 You have two weeks until Dublin.
04:01 Yes, we have time.
04:03 We talked to the doctor.
04:06 We have to see the development.
04:09 But right now I'm not worried.
04:13 Axel Hesse, please, from Sportbild.
04:16 Xavi, congratulations.
04:18 You played a lot of big final games as a player.
04:21 What's harder, to reach a final game or to win it?
04:25 To win.
04:27 To reach a final game and not to win it, it's a shame.
04:32 It's sad.
04:34 I experienced that.
04:36 We're trying to prepare well.
04:41 It's not easy.
04:43 To prepare in three days.
04:47 But this team has shown that they are ready for anything.
04:53 We have to prepare for many days, but we have no time.
04:58 All the players want to have a good impact.
05:02 Today we saw on the bench that they had a big impact on us.
05:07 They gave us a lot of energy.
05:09 We need it all.
05:11 We have two finals.
05:13 We'll see.
05:15 I didn't analyse it yet.
05:17 Atalanta first and then Kaiserslautern.
05:21 Philipp Ahrens, please.
05:24 Xavi, the story of Josep Stanisic is one of the stories of this season.
05:30 You bring him and he scores an incredible goal.
05:35 After the season he has to go back to Bayern.
05:39 Do you have any hope that he can still be your player in the new season?
05:44 It wasn't an easy decision to not play Josep from the start.
05:56 He played very well.
05:58 I always want to play.
06:00 He's hungry.
06:02 We have the situation, but it's not my problem.
06:06 It's a question for Simon and Fernando.
06:10 It's very difficult to have this opportunity.
06:18 But we're very happy with Josep's attitude.
06:24 He's great.
06:27 He's a very important player for everyone.
06:31 Not just Josep, everyone.
06:33 Rodi too.
06:35 We have a very complete team.
06:39 Christian Kremer, please.
06:43 Was Florian Wurz's substitution to make things difficult for the opponent?
06:50 No, I didn't know how good or bad he was.
06:56 There was a risk.
07:00 But we needed something special with Florian.
07:04 A pass, a dribble.
07:08 I took that risk today.
07:12 I had to make a different decision.
07:18 It worked well.
07:23 Holger Schmidt, please.
07:26 Xabi, you've played for many big teams.
07:30 Real, Liverpool, Bayern, Spanish national team.
07:32 But you've never been undefeated in 49 games.
07:35 What's special about this team?
07:38 What makes them so special?
07:40 It's hard to explain how we've come so far.
07:46 It's not easy to explain.
07:51 It's incredible.
07:56 I saw today that it was the longest run in European football.
08:01 The fifth in the middle of European football.
08:05 We've never been undefeated.
08:08 Normally there's a defeat in the process.
08:12 But we're happy that we didn't lose.
08:16 We have four more games to go.
08:23 We don't want to stop.
08:25 I always say the same thing.
08:27 But there's always another one.
08:29 Maybe after Berlin we'll stop and go on holiday.
08:33 Philipp Seldorf, please.
08:36 I hope there's nothing else.
08:39 Philipp from the South Germans, please.
08:41 Forever and ever.
08:43 Have you ever worried that this is one of those games
08:50 where your team is clearly better and has more chances?
08:54 But only the opponent scores and it probably goes wrong today?
08:58 We saw some crazy situations in the re-match and the semi-finals.
09:06 It wasn't incredible but it wasn't worth losing 2-0.
09:14 But we showed character and good football.
09:21 We created a lot of chances.
09:25 In the first half with Adam, Amine, Jonas.
09:29 We wanted to do that.
09:32 We had good control last year but we didn't create enough chances.
09:41 This year was completely different.
09:45 We improved.
09:47 With two penalties, the first one was OK.
09:53 The second one, I was more doubtful.
09:56 To give a penalty with four years is pointless.
10:01 But in the end, we didn't win the penalty.
10:08 Axel Hesser, please.
10:10 Xabi, the club is facing the best week of its history.
10:15 With the two finals, before that the cup.
10:18 What do you think about the last week of the season?
10:23 It's a big success that we have two finals in the last week.
10:32 It's not easy.
10:34 Last year, City were in this situation.
10:37 Not many teams are in this situation.
10:40 And for us, that we reached this.
10:43 It means a lot for the team.
10:47 For the big preparation we had in July in Austria.
10:51 It was a long way to get here.
10:55 Now, I have the focus to prepare well for the last week.
11:01 I know what to do.
11:03 I will analyse.
11:05 I know and hopefully it's right.
11:11 But with the team, we are convinced that we can do it.
11:16 Holger Schmidt, please.
11:18 After the 1-2, you were already further.
11:22 But the team played forward.
11:24 As if they needed a goal to get further.
11:26 Because they wanted to keep this series.
11:28 Were you in the temptation to say,
11:30 "Take it slow, we are already further"?
11:32 No, no.
11:33 At this moment, I couldn't control.
11:35 The players wanted more.
11:37 They had a good feeling.
11:39 They had a good feeling that we had a good line.
11:44 The last third was in front of us.
11:48 We didn't get many counter-attacks.
11:50 Only the two penalties.
11:53 But this situation was not good.
11:55 With the flank, with two strikers, with Sadr and Lukaku.
11:58 They wanted to have many players in front of us.
12:01 And the goal was a bit of a strange situation.
12:06 The 1-2 was enough for us.
12:11 But the players wanted more.
12:13 I had no influence in my team at this moment.
12:18 Francesco Orchetti, La Gazzetta del Sport.
12:22 The next opponent is Atalanta-Bergamo.
12:25 What do you know about this team?
12:27 What did you see?
12:28 What did you hear?
12:29 It's also a surprising team in Europe.
12:31 How will the final be?
12:32 It's not a surprise for me.
12:34 They are a great team.
12:35 In the last few years with Gasperini.
12:40 They are a very strong team.
12:43 They do special things with tactics.
12:49 Also special movements.
12:52 I know them very well.
12:54 I didn't see much, but I saw it.
12:57 It's a very intense final.
13:00 I'm looking forward to it.
13:03 Archie, again from ESPN.
13:06 Just a question about Jonathan Tah.
13:09 He picked up that yellow card late on in the first half.
13:12 Was there any consideration from you to sub him off at all in the second?
13:16 Yes, for sure.
13:18 It went through my mind.
13:20 But I think that at the moment,
13:23 Jonathan is developing.
13:25 Well, not developing.
13:26 But he's in a very mature mindset when he's playing.
13:32 He's not making many mistakes.
13:35 So I had confidence that he was going to be able to control the situation.
13:39 Even if there was a risk.
13:41 Edi Tapsova as well.
13:42 He had a yellow card.
13:44 And having situations very physical with Lukaku.
13:48 But I had confidence that Jona was going to deal well with that risk.
13:54 Not to take too many 1v1 duels.
14:00 To go 100% when the situation was not clear.
14:04 To try to slow down in those situations.
14:07 And that's part of his great development and the great season he's playing.
14:11 He's very stable in his mind, in his football, in his concentration.
14:15 So he's playing at a high level.
14:19 And for me, he's one of the best defenders in Europe at the moment.
14:23 Just quickly.
14:25 The situation where he conceded the penalty was quite similar to one against West Ham.
14:31 I thought when he got into a tussle with Miquel Antonio.
14:34 Do you think he's being targeted a bit in that way for those tussles?
14:37 I don't know for sure.
14:39 The referees, they analyse the teams as well.
14:43 It was our first duel with Sardar after there was a big space.
14:49 So the referee took that decision.
14:52 That he was grabbing him a little bit instead of having the contact.
14:57 So it could have been a penalty.
15:01 But overall, Jona is performing at the highest level.
15:06 I'm really happy for him because he deserves all the praise.
15:09 And all this good moment that he's living.
15:13 That he's a key player for us and happily for the national team as well.
15:17 Philipp Ahrens again from the Bild newspaper.
15:20 Xabi, how much of this Roma trauma is over for you?
15:27 Everyone has been talking about Roma in the last few days.
15:31 Edmond Tapsoba yesterday as well.
15:33 You had the feeling that this game or this experience last year
15:38 somehow carried you through the whole season.
15:41 And now you can wrap it up.
15:43 Yes, of course. We had this game last year here.
15:49 From the start of the season.
15:52 From the first European League game against Hagen.
15:55 We used this hunger, this will to be in Dublin and to reach it.
16:03 So, not trauma, but experience.
16:07 Positive experience. We used it in the right way.
16:11 And to keep this focus going in the European League.
16:18 And now, luckily, we can say that we've reached the final.
16:24 But there's only one place in the final.
16:27 And hopefully we can win the final.
16:32 00.23, it's very late.
16:34 We wish everyone a good night.
16:36 Axel again.
16:37 Last question.
16:39 I have one more question about Bochum.
16:42 Last season, it was your last really bad game as a team.
16:46 And the last defeat.
16:48 What does that mean for this year?
16:50 I don't forget.
16:52 It was our last game last season.
16:55 We got the goal from Amine in the second, in the eighth minute.
17:03 It was not a pleasant game.
17:09 In the end, nothing happened.
17:12 Luckily, we were in Europe.
17:17 And today we are here.
17:20 Because we have...
17:23 How can I say it in the end?
17:26 But yes, we will see the results for Bochum.
17:31 Tomorrow I will start to prepare for the game.
17:35 But not now.
17:37 Thank you for coming.
17:39 Good night everyone.
17:40 Ciao.
17:41 Okay.
17:41 [BLANK_AUDIO]