Leverkusen to use Europa League pain to win German Cup title
Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen are still hurting after a tough 3-0 defeat to Atalanta in the Europa League final on Wednesday, but coach Xabi Alonso said that they will use the pain to win the German Cup final on Saturday.
"The pain from Wednesday is still fresh. We will use this to win tomorrow. We will forget about Dublin for now and we are only thinking about tomorrow's game," Alonso said in a news conference on Friday.
Leverkusen's dream of a treble winning season were shattered after the defeat to Atalanta, but they can still achieve a maiden domestic double if they defeat Kaiserslautern in Berlin.
"We fought the full way to play this game in Berlin. Playing your final game of the season in a final always great. After Wednesday, we are ready for tomorrow," Alonso said.
The coach added that captain Lukas Hradecky will be the starting goalkeeper against Kaiserslautern. So far, Matej Kovar had played all the games in the Cup and in the Europa League, including the final against Atalanta.
Alonso, however, said of his decision: "We had two finals, both were ready and we wanted the both could have the chance to play a final."
Hradecky said he was "positively surprised" with the coach's choice.
"I got the information a few days ago that I will start the game tomorrow. I was positively surprised. Matej has had a great season," he said.
Hradecky has already played the Cup final twice with Eintracht Frankfurt and once with Leverkusen. With Frankfurt, he was crowned champion in 2018.
"I've been in Germany for nine years and this is the fourth time I play in the final. This is a privilege," the Finnish goalkeeper said.
Underdogs Kaiserslautern"proud" to be in the Cup final
Kaiserslautern coach Friedhelm Funkel has reached the Cup final for the third time as a coach. As a player, he won the trophy in 1985 with then Bayer 05 Uerdingen (now KFC Uerdingen 05), but he stressed: "I've never been more of an underdog than in this game."
His side had a poor run in the second division and only seven points separated Kaiserslautern from the relegation zone.
"I'm very realistic about it. We're playing against one of the best teams in Europe. Our chances are rather slim. But we are incredibly proud," captain Jean Zimmer said.
Top scorer Ragnar Ache participated in the final training session and is expected to be available for the game after recently recovering from an Achilles tendon irritation.
