Simon Rolfes is confident that Bayer Leverkusen will find its way back to success under new coach Xabi Alonso. The sports director defends himself against the accusation that he installed an inexperienced coach in Alonso and defends his own squad policy.
When asked if the Spaniard was the right man as a Bundesliga newcomer, Rolfes made it clear to Bild: "Believe me - Xabi has enormous power. You can see that in coaching on the line, but especially in every training session. He is the man who will bring the fire back to us."
Champions League aspirant Leverkusen is in the table basement after ten match days. Most recently, Bayer had to accept two tough defeats under Alonso (1:5 in Frankfurt, 0:3 against Porto). The debut of the new coach was extremely positive with a 4-0 win against Schalke.
However, Rolfes emphasized that Bayer did not aim for a short-term coaching effect with the decision for Alonso. Rather, it's about "reworking elementary football elements, bringing them back into our game". In the training week before the Wolfsburg game, "Xabi can really train processes and content for the first time since taking office." Unlike last, the Bundesliga is 16th. not in action during the week before the duel against the wolves because they had already been eliminated in the first round of the DFB Cup.
In addition to the coach's decision, Rolfes also defended his own squad policy. The sports director countered the accusation that the team consisted of too few leading players with reference to the success of the past season.
The management structure of the squad has not changed at all compared to last season, he noted. "These players are all a year older and therefore more experienced. We should ask ourselves why we were able to get to where we are with this potential," said the 40-year-old.
In order to achieve the turnaround and avoid a season in the bottom of the table, there is one decisive factor: "The players now have to call up their performance again."
This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as Rolfe defends decision for inexperienced Alonso - and own squad policy.
