Bayer Leverkusen started the current season with great ambitions. After all, those responsible at the Werkself managed something in the summer that rarely happens at Bayer Cross: all top performers could be retained, the key players Patrik Schick and Florian Wirtz even extended, the squad was strengthened selectively.
But after 19 matchdays, Leverkusen are not in the championship fight, but in the middle of the table. In an interview with ‘kicker’, sporting director Simons Rolfes does not want to pin the current Bayer crisis down to coach Xabi Alonso (41), who succeeded the dismissed Gerardo Seoane (44) in October.
Praise for Alonso
“Xabi took over the team in an extremely insecure state. You had to lay a foundation, defensive stability. We’ve made great progress there.”praises the 41-year-old, “Now we have to develop the playful component. That wasn’t possible in the fall. It was all about results.”
In fact, the Werkself find it difficult to find playful solutions and continue to act inconsistently. Five wins were followed by two defeats – most recently in a disappointing 0-1 draw in Augsburg. Rolfes defends Alonso: “He didn’t start with a complete preparation in the summer and from zero, but in the minus. It was all about stability.” Now you want to work on it, tactical “Variability” to develop.
upheaval in summer
Rolfes also wants to change the squad in the summer. “The orientation in the summer was to keep the team together and to strengthen it in certain areas. That will definitely be different this summer.”according to the head of sports, one “upheaval” announces: “For sure. It will be a different summer than the last. There will be a lot more movement simply because of the contract terms.”
Looking at the past transfer summer, Rolfes is now self-critical: “Our approach of keeping everyone was unusual for Bayer. This was of course at the expense of purchases. In retrospect, one can say that more movement in the squad would have been good, although I believe that neither one nor the other is the panacea.
However, Rolfes does not necessarily want to let his top performers go: “We have long-term contracts with many players, and we are in control of almost all of them, so we also have the strength to say no. That’s why I’m relaxed. We will use the summer to realign the squad.” After all, Leverkusen will want to start the new season with great ambitions. Whether they can meet their demands is another matter, as is currently being shown.
