Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso feels pride and pain after ‘Neverlusen’ finally lose
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Xabi Alonso said his side but must use the pain of the Europa League final defeat on May 22 to spur them on for another final in three days time.
PHOTO: REUTERS
DUBLIN – Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said his side will over time look back with pride on their record European unbeaten run, but must use the pain of the Europa League final defeat on May 22 to spur them on for another final in three days.
Leverkusen – or “Neverlusen” as they had been dubbed after finishing the Bundesliga unbeaten – can still win a domestic double with victory against second-tier Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final on May 25.
However, the 3-0 drubbing by Atalanta in Dublin, Ireland, ended a 51-match unbeaten streak and left Leverkusen close to what could have been an undefeated season across all competitions.
Disappointed Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka also set his sights on German Cup redemption.
“It’s not about the unbeaten run, that didn’t matter at all, it’s about this final. It’s bitter, definitely, we lost a final today, but we go on and we’ll make up for it on Saturday,” he said.
London-born former England youth international Ademola Lookman was the Italian side’s hero with a stunning hat-trick.
Alonso told a news conference: “The normality is not to get defeated in the 52nd game. Normally it happens much earlier in the season. It’s been quite exceptional what we have achieved and we have to be really proud, probably in some time, but, for sure, today it’s painful.
“We will learn, I will learn because these defeats in the final, you don’t forget them.”
Meanwhile, Leverkusen midfielder Robert Andrich told Germany’s RTL+ network: “I would have preferred an unimportant game (to lose). It’s extremely bitter, but you have to say it was deserved. And then we have to congratulate Atalanta – they deserved it more than us tonight.”
Leverkusen have long been derided as “Neverkusen” for their failure to win a major title for decades, having won only two major trophies in their 119-year history before this season.
So while the final on May 22 could have delivered a second European title following the 1988 Uefa Cup success, a second German Cup is nothing to be sniffed at.
“It will be a test how we deal with it because we have another big thing on Saturday,” former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielder Alonso said.
“It going to be a challenge for us how we come back from today’s defeat and how we deal with the pain. Let’s try and have a big influence on our mindset for Saturday.”
Leverkusen captain for the night Jonathan Tah told RTL+: “We can’t let this break us. Hugely disappointed of course. When you come so far, you of course want a different result.
“Nevertheless, we need to keep going, we’ve got a big game ahead of us. Even if we’re hurting, we’ve got to allow it to hurt a bit.
“It really hurts and we’re very disappointed, but football is like that and we need to learn from it.” REUTERS, AFP
