Schade – as planned – will step down having reached retirement age and, at the same time, become a member of the Shareholders Committee at Bayer 04. Also on 1 July, Rudi Völler (58) will take over the newly created position of executive director of sport. His successor as sporting director will be the current sporting manager Jonas Boldt (36).
"Under the leadership of Michael Schade, Bayer 04 have made very good progress over the past five years. The team has qualified for the Champions League four times and all organisational and financial targets have been completely fulfilled," said Werner Wenning, chair of the Bundesliga club supervisory committee. "Michael Schade moulded the organisation to meet future demands, continued to improve processes and structures, significantly drive internationalisation and digitalisation and continued to increase income from marketing activities. On behalf of the Shareholders Committee, I'd like to thank Michael Schade very much for all his work."
The new man in charge of the club management, Fernando Carro, is an internationally experienced top manager. "Mr Carro has continually demonstrated his extraordinary leadership and management qualities in a number of top positions at home and abroad. Together with the sporting expertise in our management group, which is further strengthened by these organisational changes, we are well placed to meet the challenges of the next few years," said Wenning.
Fernando Carro grew up in Barcelona and he went to the German School where he completed his A-levels in 1982. After training to be an industrial management assistant and attending the University of Karlsruhe to study Business and Engineering, he moved on to Bertelsmann AG in Gütersloh, where he was promoted to a number of management and board positions in the following years with increasing levels of responsibility. In 2015 he was appointed chairman of the board at the service company Arvato and and was called up to the group board at Bertelsmann Management SE.
The future CEO of Bayer 04 is married and has three children. In addition to his mother tongue Spanish, he also speaks fluent German and English. "I'm really looking forward to this exciting challenge where I can combine my passion for football with my professional experience as a manager. It's a dream come true for me," said Carro. "Bayer 04 are a great team with a lot of potential. Here at the club we will do all we can to be successful in the future and achieve our ambitious targets."
Season tickets for the Werkself home matches in the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season are now on general sale. The season ticket is valid for all 13 matches at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The first home match will be played between 28 and 31 August against the runners-up, VfL Wolfsburg, followed by the clash with the German champions, Bayern Munich, between 11 and 14 September.
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A new team, a new environment, a new challenge—and yet one thing remains the same for Afonso Moreira: his attitude. Total dedication, discipline, and the drive to improve every day have defined the Portuguese player since his early days at Sporting CP. “Even back then, I realized I had to work hard to achieve my goals,” said the 21-year-old. His parents also instilled those values in him from a young age. Values that have driven him ever since, accompanied him to France when he signed for Lyon, and now also form the foundation for his new chapter at Bayer 04. At a media session, the lightning-fast winger spoke about his values, as well as his new teammates, the new coach, and his targets at the club.
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Former Bundesliga and Germany keeper Manfred Manglitz, who was promoted to the Oberliga West with Bayer 04 in 1962, passed away on Monday at the age of 86.
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Justine Brandau and Lobke Loonen joined the Bayer 04 Women’s squad in quick succession this summer. The two Dutch players have been friends since their youth days, and are now playing for the same club for the first time. In an interview at the training camp in Rieden, Brandau and Loonen talk, amongst other things, about their experiences as opponents in the Vrouwen Eredivisie, the dynamic within their new team and their first few weeks in Leverkusen.
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