Bundesliga fan series
After the 2nd and 3rd Bundesliga, Transfermarkt will also take a detailed look at the 18 teams in the Bundesliga with the help of the community in the coming days. Which players are the fans looking forward to the most, where is there room for improvement and what is in the squad for 2022/23 for your favorite club? That’s why we asked around in the forums and got our opinions – in league one we continue with user “Marsupilami” and Bayer 04.
The new season has so far presented a completely opposite picture compared to the previous one: no new coach, hardly any new players, no messed up preparation, but unlike last season no progress in the cup. After the last successful test games, everyone was full of anticipation for the upcoming tasks, but the optimism wobbled a little.
How do you rate the Bayer 04 Leverkusen squad?
Not much has happened during the summer break, but sporting director Simon Rolfes can definitely count that as a success. Moussa Diaby has been persuaded to stay, the courted Florian Wirtz and Patrik Schick have even extended their contracts until 2027 without an exit clause. So far, only Adam Hlozek is new to the team, with whom you could outperform various other top clubs. Overall, the squad is of a very high quality, but quantitatively there can and will probably be some improvement.
The defense hasn’t changed compared to the previous season, Jonathan Tah keeps the defense together as a constant, leading player and language talent, Edmond Tapsoba builds up the game next to him. It is unclear whether Piero Hincapié or Mitchel Bakker will be allowed to start at the back left after his disastrous cup performance at the start of the season. Before that, Robert Andrich is on the “six” after a positively surprising season, his neighbor will probably rotate. In midfield, the big question is how to compensate for the loss of exceptional talent Wirtz. In terms of position, he is represented by Sardar Azmoun, who, like Max Kruse, can steer a game offensively as a player, but is not known as a workhorse against the ball. In the cup, it was not possible to close the resulting gaps. Here Gerardo Seoane has to find the balance at the start of the season.
The offensive, however, is also without Wirtz to click the tongue. Hlozek will probably twirl on the wing as a counterpart to the seeded Diaby, he was one of the few self-confidence in the cup with a hit. Up front, Schick has realistic chances of attacking the top scorer cannon if he can build on his last season.
Where do you see a need to catch up by Deadline Day?
Another option for the offensive wing is still to come. The name Mykhaylo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk, who has emerged as a dream player, has been haunting the entire transfer period. It has long been agreed with the player that Shakhtar is opposed to the transfer for reasons that are not yet known. Nevertheless, a transfer in the coming weeks does not seem unrealistic. Man City’s Samuel Edozie is the plan B.
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In addition, it is unclear whether a further option for the head office should be made mandatory. So far, neither Kerem Demirbay nor Exequiel Palacios or Charles Aránguiz have been able to convince in the long term. The latter may be drawn back to South America. In general, a lot can and will probably happen on the delivery side. Joel Pohjanpalo, Nadiem Amiri and Daley Sinkgraven do not feature in the squad and are looking for new clubs. Iker Bravo is flirting with at least a temporary return to Spain – the outcome is open. Depending on the departures, there could also be movement in the squad in other positions.
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What do you expect from the playful appearance of the team?
The squad has a lot of talent, but also needs a well-rehearsed axis for stability. Lukas Hradecky, Tah, Andrich and Schick came together over the course of the past season and must form the backbone of the team in the current season as well. If the axis is up and running, fast-paced football is really fun. The plan must be to build on the strong offensive from last season, including the goal record. With extremely high full-backs, it was always possible to put the opponent under pressure early on and to impose one’s own game through aggressive pressing. In contrast to the ball possession time under Peter Bosz, Seoane has impressively implemented and further optimized his fast-paced football.
The greatest difficulty will be to strike a healthy balance between a solid defense and a fast-paced offensive. The cup embarrassment has already shown how difficult that can be. Too often there are larger gaps in midfield, compounded by the absence of Wirtz, who acted incredibly clever in the game against the ball.
What’s in store for Bayer 04 Leverkusen in 2022/23?
Elversberg should be a clear warning sign that the season will not be a sure-fire success despite the strong squad. The goal must still be to qualify for the Champions League. In the league, Bayern will be the measure of all things even without Robert Lewandowski. Behind them, Leverkusen, Dortmund and Leipzig are currently on an equal footing with the rest of the competition. Should Bayern actually weaken, then one of the three competitors could annoy them. It remains to be seen whether that will be Leverkusen. In the “premier class” a lot depends on the draw, but at least third place in the group will be the goal, for more the Losfee has to become a Leverkusen fan. It will also be groundbreaking when and in what form Wirtz can intervene again. But it is not yet possible to make a serious forecast here.
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