Xabi Alonso Is he back on the pitch to deal with his Bayer Leverkusen’s havoc of injuries? “If Fernando Carro offers me a contract as a player, why not. But it’s not the time yet”, declared the Spanish coach amused in a press conference yesterday, on the eve of the match against Salzburg in the Champions League. In order not to give false hopes to his fans, the Basque nevertheless clarified with a smile: “I have I only have a coaching contract and I’m not allowed to play.”
The German champions will be without Victor Boniface (thigh muscle injury), Amine Adli (left fibula fracture), Jonas Hofmann (right thigh problem) and Martin Terrier (right forearm fracture). “There are no new injuries for the moment,” the former midfielder said bitterly. “Let’s hope that after the match against Salzburg there won’t be any bad news.” To make up for these absences, the coach had to draw from the youth sector: four Under 18s were called up and also a 16-year-old Italian with great hopes: Andrea Natali.
Who is Natali – Son of Caesarformer defender of Atalanta, Bologna, Udinese, Turin and Fiorentina, is a very technical central defender with a great physique; despite his very young age he has already shown great potential. In the summer he left Barcelona to move to Germany; in the meantime, he has already become a cornerstone of the Italy Under-19 team, with whom he played 5 matches.
The Champions League standings after four days:
1. Liverpool 12 (dr +9)
2. Sporting 10 (dr +7)
3. Monaco 10 (dr +6)
4. Brest 10 (dr +6)
5. Inter 10 (dr +6)
6. Barcelona 9 (dr +10)
7. Dortmund 9 (dr +7)
8. Aston Villa 9 (dr +5)
9. Atalanta 8 (dr +5)
10. Manchester City 7 (dr +6)
11. Juventus 7 (dr +2)
12. Arsenal 7 (dr +2)
13. Leverkusen 7 (dr +1)
14. Lille 7 (dr +1)
15. Celtic 7 (dr 0)
16. Dinamo Zagreb 7 (dr -2)
17. Bayern 6 (dr +4)
18. Real Madrid 6 (dr +2)
19. Benfica 6 (dr +2)
20. Milan 6 (dr +1)
21. Feyenoord 6 (dr -3)
22. Club Brugge 6 (dr -3)
23. Atl. Madrid 6 (dr -4)
24. PSV 5 (r +2)
25. PSG 4 (dr -2)
26. Sparta Prague 4 (dr -3)
27. Stuttgart 4 (dr -3)
28. Shakhtar 4 (dr -3)
29. Girona 3 (dr -4)
30. Salzburg 3 (dr -7)
31. Bologna 1 (dr -5)
32. RB Leipzig 0 (dr -5)
33. Sturm Graz 0 (dr -5)
34. Young Boys 0 (dr -10)
35. Red Star 0 (dr -12)
36. Slovan Bratislava 0 (dr -13)