Champions League
Seoane’s semifinals: Bayer coach also under pressure in Porto
Despite the sporting crisis, his job seemed safe for a while, but the appearance of Bayer Leverkusen in the 0: 4 in Munich changes the perspective: Coach Gerardo Seoane must now deliver quickly.
It’s the semifinals for Gerardo Seoane: Bayer Leverkusen’s club manager Fernando Carro has already made it clear that Saturday’s league game against FC Schalke 04 will be a job final for the coach.
But in the Champions League game on Tuesday (9 p.m. / DAZN) at FC Porto there shouldn’t be a bloodless performance like the last 0: 4 in Munich. After all, the club, which Carro confirmed in the Sport1 “double pass”, was “not unprepared” when it came to the trainer question. And could act accordingly quickly and spontaneously.
Thus, the shadow of a Mister X accompanied Seoane on Monday afternoon on the flight from Cologne to Porto. Who that is hasn’t come through yet. With Thomas Tuchel, Bayer probably at least felt it. Adi Hütter should not be an issue. Domenico Tedesco remains. Florian Kohfeldt or Sebastian Hoeneß are more likely objects of speculation.
Partial rethinking
Actually, Carro Seoane had clearly strengthened his back before the Munich game. And the desire to get the curve with the Swiss is still pronounced. The defenseless appearance in Munich has at least partially led to a rethink. “Of course you can lose in Munich – just maybe not like that,” said Carro. Seoane is no longer untouchable, he has to deliver. “Football is a result sport,” said the club boss: “Of course we want to continue with Gerardo Seoane.” But one is just “not blue-eyed”.
On Monday, directly before departure, none of the Bayer bosses spoke, and sports director Simon Rolfes had already said everything important beforehand. And for the first time made no clear commitment to the coach, instead giving him a clear assignment. “We need short-term success and a different appearance,” he demanded. After a game like the one in Munich, you can’t “simply go back to business as usual. We missed everything: tackling, willingness to run, courage. Those are the basic requirements. We have to show them in Porto. That’s very important. Everyone is challenged there.”
Hradecky slipped up
Lukas Hradecky is one of those who are particularly challenged. The captain and goalkeeper has made three bad mistakes in the last five games and conceded goals that didn’t seem unbearable. “We’re behind him, but of course it’s very annoying that the goalkeeper’s mistakes mean so much for the results in the end,” said Carro: “It’s part of football. But in terms of frequency and concentration, it’s not actually too accept.”
What encourages Seoane and everyone else: In the previous Champions League game against Atlético Madrid (2-0), Bayer won a win without which the 43-year-old might not be here today. The best performance of the season against the unpleasant Spaniards was held by Leverkusen after the 0-1 start in Bruges in the competition. And was an important part of the analysis during the international break. At the end of which there was a clear commitment to Seoane. That is now crumbling more and more.