Simon Rolfes, the CEO of Bayer Leverkusen, is excited for a fair battle between the German side and Roma in the Europa League semi-finals.
The two sides are battling it out for a spot in the Europa League finals, where they’d face the winner of Juventus-Sevilla. Roma have been inconsistent in Serie A this season but looked better in Europe, picking up wins over Feyenoord, Real Sociedad and RB Salzburg.
With Roma sitting seventh in the Serie A table, their best hope of securing a spot in the Champions League is winning the Europa League, piling on the pressure in the final stages of this season.
Speaking to TMW, Rolfes was first asked to name a favourite between Roma and Bayer Leverkusen.
“I don’t think there is one. It will be a 50-50 match. We occupy more or less the same position in the table, Bundesliga and Serie A are not that far apart in level. I think it will be a balanced double challenge.”
He touched on Roma’s recent defeat to Inter.
“Yes, of course. But in Serie A there is a lot of competition in the top areas, there are teams fighting for the Champions League and the league table. Inter are a great team, Roma too, of course, but it’s not easy to play against certain clubs.”
The Bayer Leverkusen CEO was asked if Paulo Dybala would feature against his team.
“He’s a very strong player, maybe you know better than I if he will play. But Roma are not just him, they have many, they are a very mature team, also because of the way they play.”
Rolfes touched on the lessons learned from their 4-2 loss to Atalanta in the Europa League last season.
“I think last year’s Atalanta were more mature than us in certain matches. We had a lot of youngsters who learnt from that experience, we showed that in recent times in Europe.
“We showed that we can play better. Roma are very clever in defending, Atalanta have more duels. But I feel I can say that it’s the typical style of Italian football, the level of Serie A is improving.”
He spoke about Patrick Schick and if they’ve spoken about his former Giallorossi teammates.
“I spoke with him, yes, but not about his former teammates. Unfortunately, he can’t play against his former team, but I consider Schick a really top player, last season he scored more than Haaland in the Bundesliga.
“We will miss him a lot in these games, hopefully he can play against Roma again next year.”
The Bayer Leverkusen CEO reflected on the team’s decision to appoint Xabi Alonso as head coach earlier this season.
“We started very very badly, and we decided to change, with new impulses, new energy. If you are at a club there is a scouting department for players, but an eye on the coach market must always be there because we never know when there is a certain phase of change.
“So, we started from scratch, Xabi Alonso was always on our generic list, but we talked about the idea and philosophy. We all thought he was a good match.”
He was not concerned about the interest in Xabi Alonso across Europe.
“He has a contract with us, he is happy, he likes working here, he has a good team to develop. Even in the last press conference he said he is 100% here in his head.”
Rolfes gave his thoughts on Roma coach Jose Mourinho.
“He has a lot of experience, he is very intelligent. He knows how to handle pressure and the media. But then the players go on the pitch, everyone is seeing how there is quality, preparation. We all follow the performances.”
Finally, Rolfes discussed the favourite to win the Europa League this season.
“Maybe for the history I’d say Juventus, they have many titles during recent years, especially in Serie A. Maybe there is no overall favourite in the final four, because there is a different way of playing, of winning games. We are all very close.”