With star-player Charles Aránguiz in their ranks, Bayer Leverkusen will be looking to secure their place in this year’s lucrative Champions League. "It is probable that he will play against Lazio," said Bayer manager Roger Schmidt cryptically, before the departure of the squad to The Eternal City for the first leg of the Champions League qualification at Lazio Rome (20:45 CEST, live on Sky).
The Chile International Aránguiz could well make the difference for Leverkusen against World Cup winner Miroslav Klose and Co, as he was rested in the Bundesliga opener against 1899 Hoffenheim. Regardless of whether the star signing plays, there is no doubting the seriousness of the game for Bayer. As sporting director Rudi Völler said, "we want to put ourselves in a good position for the second leg next Wednesday."
Rudi Völler: “evenly matched”
The game is not just a sporting fixture. "With the Champions League comes money and reputation," emphasised chairman Michael Schade, who will more than make his money back from the Aránguiz transfer should they reach the group stages. The primary aim though for the 4th placed team from last year will be to attract headlines for a good performance, after being unluckily dumped out by Atletico Madrid in the round of 16 last season.
"We’re all determined to experience the Champions League again," said Schmidt, before the showdown with Klose and other stars Lucas Biglia, Felipe Anderson and Antonio Candreva. According to Völler, the teams are "evenly matched, and performances on the day will decide it."
Lars Bender’s inclusion in doubt
The decision on whether the Germany Intentional will play any part against the two-time Italian champions, after injuring his back against Hoffenheim, will be made shortly before kick-off.
Despite the injury to the midfielder, Schmidt was in high spirits: "we are feeling good about the game in Rome, and are very confident." Everyone knows that it will be a big challenge. "We will need to work hard," said striker Stefan Kießling, who is looking forward to seeing Klose again, but insists "we won’t go easy on them." For Leverkusen’s world champion Christoph Kramer, the clash with Lazio, who were last in the group phase in 2007/2008, is more of a "Champions League quarterfinal," rather than a qualifying match. This was backed up by Völler, who has particular respect for Germany all-time top goalscorer Klose: "He still has immense quality," said the former DFB coach when talking about the 37-year-old, who played under him at the World Cup in 2002 and the European Cup in 2004.