Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, plus head coach Gerardo Seoane and captain Lukas Hradecky first listened to friendly words from the hosts on the third deck of the MS Schmitten: Yvonne Rosenstatter (Area director in marketing management at SalzburgerLand) and Renate Ecker (Director of tourism, Zell am See-Kaprun) were proud of another visit from the Champions League participants.
"Salzburger Land provides outstanding conditions for different sports – including football," said Rosenstatter. "We are therefore very proud of the active and familiar partnership with Bayer 04 that is already ten years old." Ecker also highlighted the "solid partnership, with the Werkself and spoke about "meeting up as friends."
"It's clear that it's really great to be here under these circumstances," added Fernando Carro against the mountain backdrop around Zeller See. "The coaching staff know the local area and facilities well from last year. That was a big advantage in our advanced planning."
And head coach Gerardo Seoane also looked very impressed with the facilities. The Swiss coach not only praised the training set-up at the Alois Latini Stadium and the accommodation – the Hotel Tauern Spa – but also the wide range of options in the area. The Werkself have taken part in a bike tour, played beach volleyball, tried out stand-up paddle boarding on Zeller See. And the culinary delights of Austrian cuisine were discovered with an evening meal at a restaurant in Zell am See-Kaprun. "This training camp gives us the opportunity to get to know each other as a group in a completely different way," said Seoane. "That strengthens team spirit in the long run."
It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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