"FC Bayern have dominated German football for ten years. But we've also developed and have grown," said Gerardo Seoane right at the start of Friday's pre-match press conference ahead of #FCBB04 in response to the question of whether his team still had the result of the reverse fixture (1-5) in the back of their minds: "There are no first and second legs for us but instead we are starting at 0-0 tomorrow. It was four and a half months ago. There is a process in being consistent in every game. That's where we are at the moment."
Following the 3-2 defeat at Mainz 05 his team have shown they can now bounce back quickly and produce another top performance on the pitch. The reward for that was the comfortable 3-0 victory against Arminia Bielefeld. "We want to build on our good development again tomorrow," said the Swiss coach.
At the same time, the 43 year-old admitted that against FC Bayern "a good performances is not enough, it needs a top performance." That also requires courageous and smart challenges in defence and at set-pieces: "We want to defend well and we'll have to see that they aren't able to show their attacking qualities."
The head coach of the Werkself is well aware that Bayern have already lost two games in the second half of the season. "Of course, as part of analysing the opposition you also look at the problems caused for Bayern by earlier opponents. But we can't copy that and we have to rely on our own strengths," added the coach as he called for a bold attacking game: "We have to make as many moves up front as possible."
One possible man for that job is Moussa Diaby who has clocked up seven goals and two assists in the second half of the season so far. "He has high technical quality, impressive finishing and dribbles well but, above all, he is ready to learn and be self-critical," praised Seoane.
Missing at the Allianz Arena are midfielder Karim Bellarabi (muscle) plus striker Patrik Schick (muscle injury) and goalkeeper Andrey Lunev (ankle ligament).
There is good news: New signing Sardar Azmoun was able to join in with most of full training and he did not have any problems afterwards. But he still needs number of sessions before being in the starting line-up "to be able to achieve his best performance levels after his injury and Covid- 19 infection," said Seoane.
It remains to be seen if midfield dynamo Robert Andrich will be able to play. The Werkself number eight has been struggling with a knee problem for a few days and he was rested at the start of the week before gradually doing more individual work. Following today's final pre-match training session, a decision will be made on Andrich playing against Bayern.
Whether it's sport or his private live: Captain Edmond Tapsoba tells us his top three personal favourites in twelve categories in edition #56 of the Werkself Magazine. The defender had to answer as quickly as he reacts on the pitch. 'On the Podium' with Edmond Tapsoba!
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“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
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A floodlit derby, two further night games and a top-of-the-table clash on a Saturday afternoon: The German Football Association (DFB) has confirmed the exact dates for four further matchdays in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga. This means all fixtures for the Bayer 04 women’s team up to the end of the year, as well as the first two in 2027, are now confirmed.
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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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Several Werkself players are set to represent their national teams during the final international break of 2026. Here’s an overview of who has been called up and the matches they will face in November. This article will be updated regularly.
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