"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.
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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On Friday afternoon, it will be decided which eight of the 36 participating teams Bayer 04 will face in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in 2026/27. At the draw in Monaco (live on UEFA.com), the Werkself will be drawn against two teams from each of the four pots, allocated according to the UEFA club coefficient. A match against an opponent from the same country is ruled out, as is facing more than two clubs from the same national association. Here’s a look at the pots and potential opponents.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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