The reporter reported coldly The 10-man half-time battle is not unfamiliar, and the championship trophy is still familiar - last night's Germany Super Cup almost replicated the plot of the Germany Cup final 3 months ago, the only difference is that compared to the Germany Cup Bundesliga opponent Kaiserslautern, the Super Cup opponent, last season's Bundesliga runner-up Stuttgart, is obviously more difficult for Bayer Leverkusen to deal with, but Alonso still led the Germany double to win the first Germany Super Cup in team history, crowned the treble at the same time, the pharmaceutical company also began the new season of conquest.
Bayer Leverkusen, who had one man less in the 37th minute, was overtaken by Stuttgart in the second half, and in the 88th minute, the equalizer familiar to Leverkusen fans appeared "without suspense": Schick received Grimaldo's through ball and pushed the equalizer. Last season's Bundesliga on April 28 Bayer Leverkusen played Stuttgart at home, and it was Andrich who equalized in the 95th minute. Bayer Leverkusen beat Stuttgart 3-2 in the Germany Cup on 7 February, and Jonatan · Ta scored in the 90th minute.
The two teams met three times in half a year, and Leverkusen scored three times after 88 minutes, and Stuttgart became the new bad luck of Leverkusen's "equalizer/goal" after Karabagh in the Europa League (four times scored in stoppage time). Bayer Leverkusen have scored after 85 minutes in as many as 22 of their 54 games since last season, totalling 28 goals! Among them, as many as 11 goals were scored in 90 minutes and stoppage time, which can be called the most resilient king of the Bundesliga and even Europe!
The 42-year-old Alonso lost just one of their 54 Europa League finals last season with this Super Cup. Otherwise, he would have been the best coach in Leverkusen's history without any controversy. Despite the treble, Bayer Leverkusen's only European title was won by Riebeck (1987/88 UEFA Cup). Alonso conquered Germany, but not Europe.
The seeds of coaching were planted early in Alonso's heart, with the Bayer Leverkusen boss recalling in an op-ed for The Players Tribune: "I remember having dinner with my family as a child, my father always left his notebook and pencil on the table, and studied tactics and formations while my mother cooked. The fireplace in the home is the Alonso brothers' practice goal, and an old-fashioned video camera records "training" footage of them mimicking their coach's interviews. In addition to football, Alonso also enjoys tennis and surfing, and he can't forget his neighbour Arteta.
The Germany Super Cup is Bayer Leverkusen's third trophy this year, but Alonso's "fourth". When he returned to his hometown of Basque Country for a summer holiday, he made a guest appearance as coach of his eldest son, Jon's team, and won the Donostia Cup in the junior competition. It is worth mentioning that this team also has Gabi, the son of Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta. Although Bayer Leverkusen suffered a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal in London in the warm-up game before the Germany Super Cup, the deep friendship between Alonso and Arteta from childhood has not changed in the slightest. The two even agreed to meet again in the Champions League in the new season, with a one-point win.
After winning the double last season, Alonso has been busy receiving awards and bringing in reinforcements, in addition to vacationing and "coaching" his eldest son Jon's team. He won the Dubai Globe Award for Best Coach of Europe and the Bundesliga Official Coach of the Year awards, while the team also signed Rennes' 19-year-old France centre-back Belosian, Girona's Spain midfielder Alex · Garcia and Rennes' 27-year-old France striker Trier. He also hopes to buy Super Cup rivals Stuttgart defender Anton to bolster the defence.
Alonso's biggest success has been the retention of central defender Jonatan ·ta, who is almost certain to join Bayern, as well as rumored defenders Tapsoba, Frimpong, Grimaldo, midfielder Andrich and striker Schick, with the team's most expensive Wirtz agreeing to stay with the club for at least another year. At the same time, striker Borja and defender Stanisic left the team, and Iran striker Azmoun, who also returned from loan but was late to training, was sold to the Young Nationals of Dubai.
Alonso also revealed in his column that he was unaware of Leverkusen's nickname "Neverkusen" when Leverkusen general manager Rolfes called him to coach a year and a half ago: "I'm so happy that now we don't hear the word Neverkusen anymore. What's next? Defend our title and challenge for the Champions League! "The Super Cup trophy is Alonso's first step towards replicating the Bayer Leverkusen miracle.