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.
High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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Sofie Zdebel is up for the Goal of the Month award for February on ARD-Sportschau. Fans have until 21 March (19:00 CET) to vote for the Germany U23 international's volley to make it 2-0 in the Bayer 04 Women's derby against FC Köln (2-1).
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are further expanding their partner network: The feed manufacturer PerNaturam is an official sponsor of the Bayer 04 Womens team. The partnership opens up a wide range of opportunities for the company to position its brand in the Bundesliga environment.
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Do you dream of wearing the Bayer cross on your chest? To play in black and red like your role models Loreen Bender, Cornelia Kramer, Kristin Kögel and co. from the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga? Then take your chance now! Our female youth teams are once again on the lookout for new talent. That's why Bayer 04 are organising a talent day on 12 April 2026 for the first time this year with trials for female juniors.
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