Journalists and camera teams plus fans in Bayer 04 shirts were waiting in numbers at the entrance for the team led by head coach Gerardo Seoane. Brian the Lion was again on hand. After getting changed, Jonathan Tah and Co. went out onto the pitch.
The mood during the relaxed routines of keepie-uppies and rondos before the start of training could not have been better and birthday boy Sadik Fofana (many happy returns on number 19) plus Ayman Aourir from the U19 squad were involved as well; 16 outfield players and 04 goalkeepers worked up a sweat against the backdrop of a 30-metre high rock face at the UNAM Pumas academy. The rondo was obviously followed by a traditional birthday guard of honour for Fofana.
The good mood on the pitch was definitely helped by a short and unexpected shower from the sprinkler system, as the training session before the friendly against Deportivo Toluca was held with the temperature at 25 degrees in blazing sunshine under a clear blue sky.
During the 60-minute session, fans took plenty of photos of the players on the pitch - and of Brian the Lion off it. The end of the training session saw the arrival of the UNAM Pumas mascot - a puma in the kit of the Mexican top-flight team and he warmly welcomed Brian to ‘his’ patch.
The work-out was followed by numerous interviews with Mexican and American journalists - primarily with the South American Werkself players. Argentina international Lucas Alario said: “It feels special to be back here in South America. We’re close to our home country here. We’re enjoying the time here very much.”
For Lukas Hradecky and Co., after taking plenty of time out for photos with the fans, it was back to the team hotel for lunch. While the team were given the rest of the day off, Gerardo Seoane had the pre-match press conference ahead of the friendly against Toluca in the afternoon.
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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The Werkself began 2026 with defeat, losing 4-1 at home to VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 16 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga. Jamie Leweling opened the scoring early, with Maximilian Mittelstädt making it 2-0 from a penalty before Leweling again and Deniz Undav increased the lead to 4-0 just before half-time. Alejandro Grimaldo's penalty reduced the deficit midway through the second period.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has gained a new partner in digital gaming platform Crown Coins, which joins the Bundesliga runners-up's Sponsors Club with immediate effect. The one-and-a-half-year contract runs until 30 June 2027.
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The Werkself host VfB Stuttgart this evening (10 January, 18:30 CET), a side whose recent Bundesliga form has been indifferent but who have regularly produced top performances in the DFB Pokal and UEFA Europa League, and who have a key player back in the squad in striker Ermedin Demirovic. Off the pitch, the BayArena faithful will be able to see the remaining stoppage time live on the video screens. The Matchday News.
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