A return to Champions League motion with a final 16 tie towards Bayer Leverkusen is an thrilling level in our season for everybody in our squad. But for Piero Hincapie, this tie is especially particular, as he’s been telling BILD.
In 2023/2024, Piero was a part of the Leverkusen crew which gained the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double with out shedding a single recreation.
Now on mortgage with us, the Ecuadorian returns to his mother or father membership, and he’s trying ahead to seeing some acquainted faces.
“I was happy,” Piero advised BILD, “(I) despatched some messages to the fellows from Leverkusen.
“It will be a special situation for me to play against the club where I had such a good time, but that’s football. It will certainly be nice to see everyone again.”
Our no.5 arrived at Leverkusen as a 19-year-old prospect, and rose via the ranks to change into an everyday starter of their invincible title-winning crew.
But the arrogance he’s displayed in his performances for each golf equipment is one thing Piero had to work onerous to construct.
“When I arrived in Leverkusen, I solely spoke Spanish. Because of that, I used to be initially too shy to ask the physio for therapy.
“Now I snigger about it. That’s only one instance of how a lot I’ve grown in Leverkusen, each as a footballer and as an individual.
“I’m very grateful to the club for allowing me to develop so well there and leave a lasting mark with the double in 2023/2024.”
Having tasted success with Leverkusen, Piero is eager to replicate that as a Gunner.
Asked what we will be taught from that double-winning aspect he was a part of in 2024, Piero insisted that we’re on track to safe main titles.
“Arsenal have already got a very powerful factor: everybody right here is extremely hungry for titles. So we’re actually all pulling in the identical path.
“The teaching employees’s plans are understanding very well up to now. It has to keep that approach till the final second, then we’ll have one thing to have a good time on the finish of the season.
“I want to win every title, but the road is still long, the competition is fierce, and you always need a bit of luck. But we absolutely need a major title – no matter what.”
Piero can be within the distinctive place of getting been coached by each Mikel Arteta and Xabi Alonso, with the latter in command of Leverkusen throughout that well-known 2023/2024 season.
Alonso got here right into a Leverkusen crew which had by no means gained the Bundesliga title, and then coached his aspect to an unbeaten success.
“Xabi changed the team’s mentality,” Piero stated of his former supervisor, “in the course of the double-winning season, each single participant actually wished to win each recreation.
“Even when we were behind, we always believed we could win. Do you remember how many league games we won in stoppage time? That wasn’t a coincidence.”
Having tasted success beneath Alonso, Piero is hoping to replicate that with us beneath Mikel.
The two managers grew up as childhood associates, one thing our defender says was clear to see as quickly as he joined us in the summertime.
“You can inform. Their enjoying philosophies are totally different, however by way of character, the 2 are fairly comparable.
“They both have this incredibly strong passion for winning football matches. You can feel it in the intensity of every training session and in every conversation. That’s what makes them special.”
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