Leverkusen unite behind Skibbe
Friday, April 13, 2007
Article summary
Tranquillo Barnetta was quick to defend coach Michael Skibbe's tactics, referring to Bayer 04 Leverkusen's 1-0 loss at CA Osasuna as "relatively positive".
Article body
Although he had warned before the quarter-final second leg that his team had a "zero per cent" chance of progressing to the UEFA Cup semi-finals, and despite Bayer 04 Leverkusen creating the better chances on the night, coach Michael Skibbe still faced close questioning about his tactical approach to last night's game at CA Osasuna.
Strong support
Some sections of the German media quizzed Skibbe as to whether the lack of a natural centre-forward in the Leverkusen starting eleven was the logical option, but Skibbe found strong, articulate support from midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta and sporting director Rudi Völler after the 1-0 loss in Pamplona completed a 4-0 aggregate defeat.
Sensible plan
The 21-year-old Swiss international Barnetta argued: "It wouldn't have made sense to adopt a suicidal attacking approach and simply putting several strikers on the pitch doesn't mean you will score a handful of goals. There are different ways of playing attacking football, and I think what we sensibly tried to achieve in Pamplona was attacking from a solid defensive base. My opinion is that the plan basically succeeded and until they scored, we were not only in the game but creating chances. If you look at our last couple of games in Europe and domestically, we have conceded seven goals so it's relatively positive that we not only created decent opportunities but played better defensively."
Völler defence
Former Germany forward and national-team coach Völler was also quick to back the boss and the tactics deployed in Spain. "It's too easy to say we should have played more attackers in the team after a 3-0 first-leg defeat," said the FIFA World Cup winner. "We needed to play sensibly and not concede an early goal like we did in Germany. This performance was a small step forward from our recent defeats and overall we have had a positive European campaign. We showed we had the beating of sides like Blackburn Rovers [FC] and [RC] Lens and it's vital we now play well enough domestically to ensure we are in the UEFA Cup again next season."
