The V-Varen youth players not only trained with the Werkself junior squads but also joined them in playing in friendlies. “The first ten minutes were really hard. I think we all needed a moment or two to get used to the high intensity,” said Aoto Nanamure after the joint friendly on the pitch. “But it was really cool to see how much energy all the players showed.”
Before their departure, the Japanese travel group were again able to experience the home game atmosphere at the BayArena with the Bundesliga clash against current champions Bayern Munich. In response to the question of the highlight of the visit to Bayer 04, Nanamure had a categorical response ready: “The BayArena and the matchdays we were able to experience. The atmosphere is simply impressive!”
The Japanese guests came at the right time: The Werkself players had three home games during the visit – and Bayer 04 ran out winners in every game. There were wins against Hertha Berlin (4-1), Ferencvaros (2-0) in the Europa League and Bayern Munich (2-1).
The visitors from the south-west of Japan will not easily forget all of the impressions gathered during their time in the Rhineland. The talented youngsters will remember one thing in particular. Nanamure finished off by saying: “Something we’ve all remembered is the players shaking hands at the end of the game. That’s completely different from back home but is definitely something that we will remember.”
The partnership:
V-Varen Nagasaki has been a partner club of Bayer 04 in youth development since the 2017/18 season. Since then there has been an intensive exchange between the clubs on both a sporting and a cultural level. A delegation of twelve, made up of youth players Aoto Nanamure, Homare Ikeda, Kelshin Mlyazaki, Yuya Iwamoto, Kaihi Nishimura, Hinata Miyazaki plus the coaches and staff members Ikebe Tomokazu, Harada Takeo, Yusuke Maeda, Tokunaga Takahiro and Matsushita Toshihiro, visited Leverkusen from 1 to 20 March.
Former Bundesliga and Germany keeper Manfred Manglitz, who was promoted to the Oberliga West with Bayer 04 in 1962, passed away on Monday at the age of 86.
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The FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico is underway. A total of eight Leverkusen players are taking part in the 23rd World Cup, with 48 teams in the tournament for the first time. Bayer04.de brings you all the latest from Werkself players at the World Cup.
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Following the summer break of around two months, the Bayer 04 first team squad took to the training pitches at the BayArena for the first time on Tuesday – and the players were in high spirits. Alongside the newly formed coaching team led by head coach Carles Martínez, new signing Afonso Moreira also completed his first session with the squad. In front of several hundred Bayer 04 fans at the open session, numerous Werkself players worked up a good sweat. The Leverkusen players who took part in the World Cup will join pre-season training at a later date.
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In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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