The #Bayer04MexicoTour is a highlight of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Bayer Mexico. The delegation was led by Arturo Sanchez (president of Bayer Consumer Health Latin America) and Mikel Arriola (president of the Mexican league MX) plus the management of the top-flight Mexican clubs Deportivo Toluca und Club América.
After arriving late on Friday evening, the group from Mexico received an insight into the world of Bayer 04 over the weekend. The programme included a guided tour of the BayArena, a U19 home game at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium as well as a visit to the Kurtekotten Performance Centre. The visitors received a presentation from Thomas Eichin, head of the Bayer 04 Performance Centre, on the professional structure and way of working in the youth and women sections at Bayer 04.
"The visit to the training ground was very interesting. It was exciting to see the level here and how professional the youth and women's teams are run," said Arturo Sanchez. "The whole infrastructure is impressive and shows the ambition here to work to achieve bigger targets."
After a number of discussions at the weekend on the planned projects, Monday took the group to the German Football League (DFL) in Frankfurt where Donata Hopfen, CEO of the DFL, explained the internationalisation strategy of the Bundesliga to the visitors. The visit was rounded off on Monday night at the BayArena watching the 2-0 home win for the Werkself against Eintracht Frankfurt.
The #Bayer04MexicoTour runs from 15 to 20 May in Mexico. The Werkself will play a friendly on Tuesday 17 May at the Estadio Nemesio Diez against the Mexican top-flight side Deportivo Toluca. In addition, a number of marketing and PR events are planned in the Mexican capital, plus discussions with representatives of the Mexican league and a cultural programme including visits to community facilities.
The Golden Boy Top 100 traditionally lists Europe’s most promising young players. In the latest update, published to mark the start of the new season, four current Werkself players – alongside loanee Francis Onyeka – feature on the list. This means Bayer 04 have the most players in contention of any Bundesliga club.
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Goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe will continue to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen next season. The loan of the Germany U23 international, who joined from Liverpool in the winter, has been extended by a further year.
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The Bayer 04 delegation, led by Fernando Carro, CEO, concluded their multi-day trip to Brazil with a visit to the community-based organisation Bola Pra Frente in Rio de Janeiro – founded by former Werkself player Jorginho. During the visit, Bayer 04 committed to extending support for the Bola Pra Frente project for a further five years. In addition, Jorginho, a member of the Brazil 1994 World Cup-winning squad, was named Bayer 04’s second official club legend. With the visit to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the club has strengthened the relationships built up over the years in one of Bayer 04’s most important international markets.
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Ten years after retiring as a player, Kristina Sundov is returning to the Bayer 04 Women’s team as assistant coach. The 39-year-old former Croatia international takes over from Remzi Kahraman, who has taken up a new challenge abroad. She has been given a contract to 30 June 2028.
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The training pitches at the BayArena are already buzzing with activity again, even before training officially begins next week. On Monday morning, a small group from the Werkself first-team squad completed a session lasting around an hour. Both new and familiar faces were present.
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