13 outfield players plus two goalkeepers were welcomed to the training ground at the BayArena on Tuesday morning by head coach Gerardo Seoane and his fellow coaches. In between the sticks were Niklas Lomb and youth keeper Maximilian Neutgens. Nine outfield players from the senior squad were joined by U19 players Sadik Fofana, Ayman Aourir, Iker Bravo and Ingyom Jung.
Lukas Hradecky and Co. are currently away on international duty. Three of them were in action on Monday night. Odilon Kossounou celebrated a 2-1 win for the Ivory Coast against Cameroon – the central defender played the full 90 minutes. That means the Ivorians are top of the table in World Cup qualifier Group D in Africa. The clash with Cameroon was the last game for Kossounou in the current international break.
Thanks to the goal from Zidan Sertdemir, the Denmark U17 team won their second friendly in succession against Austria by 1-0. The only goal of the game came just after the restart (48'). Sertdemir is now back in Leverkusen.
Emrehan Gedikli, who was recently away on international duty with the Germany youth team, did not play. In the 1-1 draw between the Germany U19s and England, the Leverkusen striker had to go off injured due to a heavy bruise to the ankle. "He travelled back to Leverkusen today," said head coach Seoane on Tuesday. "It's probably nothing serious but we want to have it checked out again here."
The Werkself are back in action in the Bundesliga with a home game against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, 11 September (kick-off: 15.30 CEST). At a press conference on Tuesday, the 42-year-old Swiss shared his views on the next opponents for the Werkself: "They are a top team in the league," declared Gerardo Seoane before adding: "Dortmund are very powerful going forward and are good in transition. But we are at home and we don't want to get away from our own way of playing. We want to force our game onto the opponents and put them under pressure."
For the clash with BVB, Seoane can include offensive players Karim Bellarabi and Lucas Alario. "They've trained for two weeks now," reiterated the coach, "and both are available for Saturday. We're happy about that!"
If all goes well on Saturday then Bellarabi and Alario could also be in the running for the first match on the European stage in the current campaign. Ferencváros are the visitors to Leverkusen on Thursday, 16 September (kick-off: 18.45 CET). A week and a half before the match, Bayer 04 – as with all the other participants in the competition – have informed UEFA their final squad. This includes new signing Amine Adli. An overview of the 24 selected Werkself players is available HERE.
Today (Tuesday), two former Bayer 04 players celebrate their birthdays: many happy returns, Marcus Münch (49) and Andreas Thom (56).
Münch, , a hero of the team that stayed up the Bundesliga finale in 1996, made 77 appearances for the Werkself between 1994 and 1996 and the left-back was involved in eight goals (four goals, four assists). The former Leverkusen player, who is active in equestrian sports these days, spoke about his time under the Bayer Cross in May on a Werkself podcast.
Thom, currently working as assistant coach with the Hertha Berlin U19 team, made 202 appearances with the Bayer Cross on his chest (54 goals and 44 assists) and he won the DFB Cup with the club in 1993. Best wishes and much success to both. Stay safe and healthy.
Traveling to North America for the World Cup this summer to see your favorite Bayer 04 players? Here’s a quick cheat sheet with thumbnail portraits and insider tips for each city from a local expert, so you can make the most of your visit and activities beyond the game!
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A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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