“If Fernando (Carro, the club president) offers me a player contract, perhaps”: faced with the wave of injuries, the Spanish coach of the Bayer Leverkusen, Xabi Alonsochose this Monday to take it with humor, before facing Salzburg on Tuesday in the Champions League.
In that duel on the 5th day of the ChampionsXabi Alonso will especially be absent in attack: Victor Boniface (muscle injury in a thigh), Amine Adli (fracture of the left fibula), Jonas Hofmann (right thigh) and Martin Terrier (fracture of the right forearm).
“There are no new injuries, for now,” explained the Basque coach in a press conference, after training on Monday, on the eve of the duel against Salzburg.
Ironically asked if he could go out and play himself, at 43 years old, Alonso continued with a joking tone: “If Fernando (Carro) offers me a player contract, why not. But not yet (…) Only “I have a coaching contract and I am not authorized to play.”
To compensate for the absences, the coach of the German champion club has had to turn to the youth teams, with four Under-18s and even a 16-year-old, Andrea Natali.
After four rounds of the Champions League, Bayer Leverkusen has 7 points and in their previous match in the tournament they were beaten 4-0 by Liverpool.
Xabi Alonso, former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich player, retired as a footballer in 2017.
