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.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with U19 midfielder Jonah Berghoff ahead of schedule. The Germany U18 international has signed professional terms with the club to 30 June 2030.
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The guests at the Scala Club in Leverkusen were amazed when host Reiner Calmund suddenly brought the Managing Director of Sport at Bayer 04, Simon Rolfes, and record Werkself appearance maker Rüdiger Vollborn onto the stage. As part of the show "An Evening with Football & Friends", organised by long-serving Bayer 04 managing director and general manager Calmund, the two surprise guests drew plenty of applause - and provided great entertainment in exciting conversations about the past and future.
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