At Bayer 04, Nathan Tella has developed into a serious alternative for the starting eleven in 2024. The role of favorites that Leverkusen now occupies in the title race after the victory in the summit meeting (3-0 against champions Bayern) leaves him cold, but the extraordinary atmosphere in the home arena does not leave him cold.
Happy about the mood in Germany and about his appearances for Bayer: Nathan Tella (here with Bayer newcomer Borja Iglesias). IMAGO/Sven Simon
The atmosphere in the BayArena still makes Nathan Tella’s eyes shine even days after the spectacle. The Englishman with Nigerian roots, who had already spoken of the craziest atmosphere he had experienced so far during his Bundesliga debut against Darmstadt 98 (5-1) at the beginning of September, was of course also exhausted after the 3-0 win against Bayern Munich and away.
“Now she was probably even crazier…” said Tella about the acoustic backdrop in the arena. “A lot of my friends were here. They said: It’s completely different to England. It’s so exciting, the fans are incredible.”
This would dispel the prejudice that the atmosphere in Premier League stadiums is the best in the world. Tella should know, who is himself an ardent supporter of Arsenal FC, in whose youth academy the 24-year-old was trained.
Favorite role for the championship? “It doesn’t change anything for us”
The striker, who came from FC Southampton in the summer for almost 20 million euros, was euphoric about the mood in the BayArena. When it comes to Bayer 04’s chances of winning the title, the factory club has a completely different attitude. Here the professionals classify the situation objectively and soberly – despite a five-point lead and despite the convincing 3-0 win against Bayern.
Tella justifies Leverkusen’s relatively controlled statements in the mixed zone after the win in the top game simply and logically. “We haven’t won anything yet,” says the attacker, “it’s good to win every game, but if we don’t get anything to show for it at the end of the season, it would all be in vain. That’s the reason for it.”
Accordingly, Tella does not influence the role of favorites that Bayer 04 now holds in the title race. “It doesn’t change anything for us. We want to play as well as possible in every game. We look forward to a game like Saturday, play it, and then we’ll see what we can do better and what we did well. And then it’s on to the next game.”
Tella in the fast lane
Just keep going. It doesn’t matter whether the opponent is FC Bayern or, like next Saturday (3:30 p.m., LIVE! on kicker), 1. FC Heidenheim. But while Bayer is concerned with maintaining its current status, Tella is continuing to improve its own.
In the first half of the season he was only in the starting line-up in six group games in the Europa League and in the cup game in Sandhausen, but in the league he was only used as a substitute with short appearances. The quick right winger has taken a big step in 2024. As a joker and goalscorer in the 3-2 win in Leipzig, he was just as convincing on the right wing in the 3-4-3 as he was in the 2-0 win in Darmstadt, when he scored a brace as a starting eleven. And Tella, who started in attack this time, also got on the scoresheet against Bayern with his assist to make it 2-0.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria international, who benefited from being left out of his country’s provisional squad for the just-concluded Africa Cup of Nations, has emerged as a viable option for the starting XI. Even though he will probably be on the bench again in Heidenheim, he has basically increased his chances of personally creating a crazy atmosphere in the BayArena in the future.
2024-02-14 21:46:49
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