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17.05.2022Bayer 04

#Bayer04MexicoTour – Day 2: The coaches in a flurry of camera flashes

After the first night in Mexico the rested Werkself squad started the day with a work-out: After breakfast at the team hotel, the Black and Reds headed off to the pre-match training session. That was followed in the afternoon by a press conference for head coach Gerardo Seoane ahead of the friendly against the top-flight Mexican side Deportivo Toluca, with Lukas Hradecky and Co. having the rest of the day off.
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Around 90 members of the media took up the invitation to the press conference at the team hotel. Accompanied by a dozen camera teams, the Toluca coach Ignacio Ambriz immediately expressed his happiness at the Werkself visit to Mexico. The 57-year-old: “We wish you a warm welcome. It means a lot to us that you are our guests here.” Talking about the match, Nacho, the nickname for Ambriz, added: “It’s something special for us to be able to play against a team of this class, we will enjoy it.”

Seoane: "Expecting a great game"

The press conference in the Diamond Room at the team hotel lasted half an hour. Gerardo Seoane thanked his Mexican colleague for his warm words and then spoke about the match against Toluca: “We’re expecting a great match for the fans and we are happy to see so many people following Bayer 04 here in Mexico.” Speaking about targets for the game, the 43-year-old coach said: “We want to represent our club and the Bundesliga to the best of our ability and also get to know new cultures. A different type of football is played here.”

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At the end, Ambriz presented his Swiss fellow coach with a club pennant in a flurry of camera flashes from the numerous photographers present.

view over the city

Following the press conference, the head coach had some time off – and he used it to find out more about the city of 20 million inhabitants. On a tour with his fellow coaches Patrick Schnarwiler and Alberto Encinas plus CEO Fernando Carro, there was a highlight from a great height: Seoane and Co. had a stunning view over the whole city from the 181-metre high viewing platform in the 44-storey skyscraper Torre Latinoamericana.

pre-match training at Pumas academy

HERE is a report on the pre-match training session for the Werkself at the attractive academy of top-flight Mexican side UNAM Pumas.

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