Demirbay bitches like Kroos: Bayer is looking for football luck

Created: 09/10/2022Updated: 09/10/2022 7:33 p.m

Berlin's Marco Richter (l) fights for the ball against Odilon Kossounou from Bayer Leverkusen. © Andreas Gora/dpa

In search of the lost football lightness, Bayer Leverkusen has again chosen the wrong turn in Berlin.

After a wild draw, coach Gerardo Seoane and his players are hoping for a turnaround.

The arguments are thin after this performance.

Berlin – Kerem Demirbay was almost as angry as Toni Kroos.

"You have so much time, you don't have to ask the questions negatively," whispered Bayer Leverkusen's midfielder almost exactly as the former world champion did in his legendary TV interview after the Champions League victory with Real Madrid.

Demirbay had not just won the premier class for the fifth time, but played 2-2 with the Werkself at Hertha BSC in the Bundesliga.

And yet he wanted a moderate view of Bayer's earnings crisis.

"We're in a difficult situation, we're in deep, but we'll get out of it.

Believe me, we'll probably stand here in a few games and say, "Now towards the Champions League or whatever," said Demirbay, firmly believing in a sporting upswing - ideally on Tuesday in the Champions League duel with Atlético Madrid .

The choice of words was defiant for Leverkusen's once again disappointed football professionals, whom Patrik Schick had saved from another defeat with his equalizer (79th).

The draw in Berlin was not enough to talk about a turnaround.

In its dramaturgy, it was at least enough to focus on the positive, said Demirbay, who took the lead with his dream free kick (49th).

Coach Gerardo Seoane, who despite relegation rank 16 and meager three points can continue to rely on the promises of loyalty from the club bosses, wanted to focus on the good after a game with a rollercoaster character.

He found his team to be “much more active” and saw a “clear increase in performance”, especially after the setbacks caused by goals conceded by Suat Serdar (55') and Marco Richter (79').

But then there was only the conclusion: "We are disappointed, we wanted a win, we'll take the point."

The only question for Leverkusen is, with where?

Hertha BSC is on the upswing both in terms of sport and atmosphere, but not in the category where you want to compete at the highest level.

Goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky formulated the upcoming tasks with corresponding energy.

“Those are the situations in which you make men.

Now we all have to show that we are men, ”said the Finn in a rather old-fashioned gender style.

The goalkeeper considers a coaching debate to be unfounded.

"We're in this shit together."

The question of cohesion arose in another way.

Observers noted that jerseys thrown to the fans flew back onto the tartan track of the Olympic Stadium after the final whistle.

But even the maximum possible withdrawal of love from the fans could not really shake the optically finely parted Seoane, at least externally.

"I didn't realize it.

It's understandable that the fans are disappointed, so are we," said the Swiss.

"How a viewer shows his disappointment depends, I don't have to judge that," said Seoane.

Hradecky had an idea for de-escalation.

"Then I'll give the jersey to a child." dpa