This alibi should not even be considered, even if it seems obvious. Not with him, not with Xabi Alonso. “I’m not worried. I’m not crying and I’m not a victim,” said the Spanish coach of Bayer Leverkusen, the most impressive and stable team in the Bundesliga this year. That should be the case again in 2024, explained the man who was world and European champion as a player and is now considered the new star in the international coaching sky: “We also have such a competitive team.”
That’s the case – that means for Leverkusen: in the coming weeks they will be without five players, including three important regulars. Alonso will possibly be missing his two central defenders Odilon Kossounou (Ivory Coast) and Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso), his goalscorer Victor Boniface (Nigeria) and his offensive alternatives Amine Adli (Morocco) and Nathan Tella (Nigeria) until February 13th. This is a significant weakening.
The Africa Cup is calling. By the end of December, the 24 participating nations will register their players for the nations tournament to be held in Ivory Coast from January 13th to February 11th. The clubs are subject to an obligation imposed by the world association Fifa, otherwise they face severe contractual penalties. This also applies to the Asian Cup in Qatar, which is being held at the same time and in the same format.
The Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium is one of the six arenas hosting the Africa Cup of Nations
Which: AFP/SIA KAMBOU
The tournaments will have a massive influence on the operations of the major European leagues. The Bundesliga is hit hard. 33 players from 13 clubs will be absent and will miss up to five championship games and, in some cases, the DFB Cup quarter-finals at the end of January and beginning of February. That hurts, especially since the players earn their money in the clubs and not in the national teams.
Leverkusen and Stuttgart are hit the hardest
The main victims in this country are two top clubs. In addition to league leaders Leverkusen, VfB Stuttgart will also have to do without five players. Alonso’s coaching colleague Sebastian Hoeneß cannot plan with striker Serhou Guirassy (Guinea), winger Silas (DR Congo), defender Hiroki Ito (Japan), nor midfielders Genki Haraguchi (Japan) and Woo-yeong Jeong (South Korea).
The absence of Guirassy is particularly worrying. Because where would the third-place team be without their 17 goals? It’s just a good thing that VfB has another accurate striker in Deniz Undav (9 goals) who doesn’t have to travel to any tournaments in January. Nevertheless, sports director Fabian Wohlgemuth warned against believing that things would automatically continue like this in the second half of the season. “In my opinion, creating different expectations now makes no sense,” he said. Even if the fans are currently dreaming of the Champions League, this is not necessarily realistic.
The Stuttgart team is planning to close the gaps as best as possible from the existing squad and possibly also bring in youth players. There is hardly any money for winter transfers. It will probably be similar in Leverkusen – although Xabi Alonso has significantly more alternatives.
Alonso leaves all African Cup candidates out
He was able to see this for himself on Wednesday. Then the Basque tested the emergency. Against Bochum, Alonso didn’t have the Africa Cup candidates in the starting line-up – and was then able to reassure himself that things were going well. The Werkself won 4-0, it was their 25th competitive game without defeat in a row. “I think it wasn’t a risk. “I’m not taking any risks before a Bundesliga game,” he explained afterwards. It was particularly important that Patrik Schick, who started for Boniface, was able to make a statement: the Czech, who had been injured for a long time and was starting for the first time in months, scored three times. “He needed this feeling,” said Alonso: “It was important for him to come back very strongly in January.” Because then Schick is urgently needed.
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What is striking is how calmly they deal with the circumstances in Leverkusen. “It is definitely a challenge and of course there are more beautiful constellations. But we still believe that we have a broad squad and that we can handle this. “Nevertheless, they are top players that we don’t like to miss out on,” said sports director Simon Rolfes to “Bild”. He doesn’t want to rule out transfers – but even if the financial leeway in Leverkusen is greater than in Stuttgart: the chance of finding players in the short term who can immediately compensate for the loss of quality is slim.
Bayern Munich is much more worried. The second-placed team will probably have to do without Min-Jae Kim (South Korea), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Cameroon) and the currently injured Noussair Mazroui (Morocco). When it comes to the record champions, of all places, alternatives are rare. Most recently in the 3-0 win over Stuttgart, Thomas Tuchel was only able to rely on 15 field players.
The fact that they have to survive four points behind Leverkusen (with one game less) increases the pressure on Bayern – especially on sporting director Christoph Freund. He should provide reinforcements. “We think about what is possible. But winter transfers are not easy,” he said. Honorary President Uli Hoeneß, on the other hand, announced in a much more bold manner: “You have until the beginning, mid-January, and as I know Christoph, he will deliver.”
Klopp made a mistake in his tone
No matter how different the approach to the challenges is, the fear that the Africa Cup of Nations and the Asian Championship could decide the title race resonates in the Bundesliga. In particular, the postponement of the Africa Cup, which was originally supposed to be held last summer but was then postponed due to the – foreseeable – rainy season in West Africa, is causing dissatisfaction.
“Fundamentally, this has to change,” demanded Leverkusen’s managing director Fernando Carro. He hopes that there will be an agreement between the European club association ECA and the world association Fifa as quickly as possible. However, people have been working on this in vain for years. An episode from two years ago shows how difficult it is to balance interests.
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When Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp, frustrated at having to dismiss Mo Salah, Sadio Mané and Naby Keita during the season, ironically described the Africa Cup of Nations as a “little tournament”, there was a storm of indignation. An African reporter accused him of this being an insult to the African players, the fans and the entire continent. Klopp reacted with concern and shock. He really didn’t mean it like that, he insisted.
The incident documents that there is more to it than just a consistent schedule. It’s also about cultural identity and respect.
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2023-12-25 15:59:58
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