The extensive upheaval after the Xabi Alonso era, with whom Bayer Leverkusen won the double in 2024, has been "managed well", emphasizes Rolfes - even if consistency is still lacking.
"It wasn't an adjustment; it was a huge rebuild. The players have to adapt to the club and the league, but many of them are capable of becoming absolute top players," says Rolfes: "Based on this new squad, we can improve every season over the next two, three, or four years and become more capable of winning titles."
"Standards have changed."
The image boost from the time with successful coach Alonso has"naturally shifted the standards", but: "We can't buy a title-winning team, we have to develop it - so there are cycles. Nevertheless, our current quality is high: we've got players that we couldn't have signed five years ago," said Rolfes.
He believes that Jarell Quansah and Malik Tillman, in particular, are capable of making the leap to becoming world-class players
Alonso has already achieved this with his move to Real Madrid in the summer. "We still have a lot of contact. Fernando (Carro, Bayer managing director; editor's note) just had lunch with him in Madrid. We had a fantastic success story together," said Rolfes.
Praise for coach Hjulmand
Preparation and the start of the season with Alonso's successor Erik ten Hag went less well."Overall, we simply didn't have the confidence that we could be successful together," said Rolfes, who is now satisfied with Kasper Hjulmand: "He is very communicative, has a clear approach, responds to his assistant coaches and seeks to be close to the team."
Rolfes left his own future open, however."I continue to enjoy my work here and the development of the club. That motivates me. The fact that I have retired here as a player does not automatically mean that I will also retire here as a manager," said the 43-year-old.
