The Swiss manager sees the as yet unbeaten third division side as a team with "lots of qualities." The 43-year-old ranks both the Elversberg squad and their style of play as impressive: "They try to get forward but also defend very well as a group at the same time."
Like the Werkself, the Saarlander squad has more or less remained intact. "That can have advantages and disadvantages as we know very well ourselves. On the one hand, you're already well drilled and can build on things but, on the other hand, it's obviously easier for the opponent to work you out," said Seoane and he set a clear target for the first competitive match of the new season: "We take this and every competition absolutely seriously. The DFB Cup is something special, we want to aim for the maximum and excite the fans."
The idea is to primarily focus on our own game: "We need determination and aggression to come out on top," said Seoane.
The Werkself players trained intensively up to Wednesday with the workload reduced on Thursday and Friday, "to stay mentally and physically fresh," Seoane explained before adding: "Of course, there is room for improvement here and there but the team and the way they go about things day by day gives us a very positive impression as the coaching staff."
Seoane almost has his whole squad to choose from for the DFB Cup tie. All players are available with the exception of long-standing absentees Florian Wirtz and Amine Adli. Adli is currently in the final phases of rehab training and he has already been able to complete parts of team training.
Seoane: "The pre-season has been satisfactory without incident and with some good friendlies. I have 22 players who have the ability and the quality to be in the starting eleven and I'm looking forward to an exciting season."
IA total of 1,229 Black and Red fans will make the journey to Saarland on Saturday to support the Werkself at the URSAPHARM Arena.
A day later back in Leverkusen, Bayer 04 invite all Black and Red fans to the season launch at the BayArena (car park P3) from 10.30 CEST. Both the Bundesliga Women's team and the Werkself will be presented on the stage. In addition to a number of interviews, including with the chairman of the board Fernando Carro and the sporting managing director Simon Rolfes, there will be a large number of stands offering a varied range of activities for young and old alike.
There was a successful end to the women's internationals with Werkself players Carlotta Wamser and Cornelia Kramer qualifying for the 2027 World Cup finals in Brazil. A third Leverkusen player is still in with a chance of joining them. The Germany U23 players also experienced success in their last two international friendlies of the season.
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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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