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Xabi Alonso leads Bayer Leverkusen into tonight’s Europa League final against Atalanta with a wealth of experience on the big occasion.
One Leverkusen player has been tapping into his knowledge in the hope it will give them the edge against the Serie A high-flyers.
Trying to learn from the best!
Granit Xhaka has been around the block himself, playing in World Cups and European Championships. But even the vastly experienced Leverkusen midfielder acknowledges he can learn a thing or two from Alonso, who plied his trade so gracefully for the likes of Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Xhaka was particularly interested to learn about Alonso’s spell in Madrid at a time when the club had an uncanny knack of winning no matter the circumstances.
It all comes down to this 👊@johnsportraits x #UELfinal pic.twitter.com/X7thHzRD94
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) May 22, 2024
The Swiss told TNT Sports: “I’ve asked about a lot of things about Madrid when he was a player.
“I asked about his partner in midfield, the strikers he played with, his coaches, and how important the small details are in football.
“It’s about having this mindset to be calm, even if you are down in a game. An example is the number of games Madrid turned around when they were down, and the number of games they won when losing in extra time.
“That’s not the case just with him in their team, but today as well.
“They are the small details if you want to compete with the top teams. You need to be calm if you’re not playing well and believe you can get a result when you’re down in a game.”
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So what’s it like to work with Alonso?
The Spaniard was the hottest property on the coaching market a few weeks ago, before he committed his future to the BayArena club for another 12 months at least.
So, what makes him so…
Source link : https://www.101greatgoals.com/news/bayer-04-leverkusen-midfielder-reveals-xabi-alonsos-small-details-mindset-inspiring-the-team/
Author : Jon Fisher
Publish date : 2024-05-22 11:33:20
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