Rangers tie could spark last waltz for Leverkusen’s Lars
Bayer Leverkusen captain, Lars Bender, has revealed he has special motivation to beat Rangers next week.
It could be the start of his final season in football.
The Ibrox side travel to Germany for the second leg of the Europa League Round of 16 tie a week on Thursday, trailing 3-1 from the first leg.
Bundesliga big guns Bayer returned to training last week, but will have to face Rangers cold, with the German season not starting until September 18.
And while Leverkusen skipper Bender missed a large chunk of last term through injury – including the Ibrox tie – the 31-year-old has admitted he is considering hanging up his boots at the end of the season.
The German international is determined to mark that milestone by winning the Europa League.
He said: “I got a lot of injuries last season, which triggered something in me. It’s not easy mentally.
“I keep thinking about past injuries, and once that scar is open, you worry about the consequences. So I have had thoughts about my career and I will weigh it up. It’s not the right time to make a decision. But it’s been a stressful period for me.
“At the moment, I am only focusing on playing Rangers.
“We have been given an opportunity to do well in this tournament, especially as we don’t have to travel.
“For me personally, the greed is there, the fire is there.
“We are a little rusty, but I think we should be up to top speed when Rangers come.
“Everything is very much lacking rhythm just now because we have only just ended the previous season.
“But if we get past Rangers, we will be playing games in a very short period of time, and there is a trophy to be won which carries Champions League entry.
“We want to reach another cup final.”
Last month, UEFA announced the Europa League quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be played as a straight knock-out tournament across four cities in Germany during August.
Cologne, Duisburg, Düsseldorf and Gelsenkirchen are the venues, and all the ties will be one-off games.