Brazilian and German fans at training plus meet & greet with Paulo Sergio

This exceptional day started for the fans with a visit to the morning training session. Eray and his seven-year-old son Kian, who has played for Bayer 04 youngsters since the summer, made a special trip to be there. "My wife is from Brazil and we regularly come here on holiday," explained Eray, who alongside his son also brought his Brazilian niece. "It took us three and a half hours to get here from Búzios. The children were extremely excited to see the players, coaches and Paulo Sergio. It's a great experience for them!"

"events like this mean a lot to me"

Paulo Sergio was not only happy about his own meeting with the fans but, above all, also with the interaction between fans from Brazil and Germany: "Events like this mean a lot to me. Fans are simply an important part of football and of great significance to us players and the clubs. That people have come from all over Brazil to be here today says a lot about their attachment to Bayer 04."

In a round of questions, the 1994 World Cup winner revealed that he first had to get used to the cold temperatures in winter when he moved to Germany. "It was completely new to me playing in snow or in Munich with a temperature of -24 degrees. But that's all part and parcel of being in Germany.” (He laughs) The fans also had questions on the significant influence of Bayer AG on the bond between Bayer 04 and Brazil, the many Brazilian Bayer 04 players from the past as well as the recently opened Bayer 04 Football Academy in São Paulo led by Sergio.

a Rio expat with Bayer 04 in his heart

Gerd also came to the meet & greet. The 64-year-old was born and grew up in Bergisch Gladbach and he discovered his love for Brazil and Rio de Janeiro in particular as a teenager. "I've regularly travelled here for over four decades and three years ago I decided to move out here. I've been all over the world but no country can touch Brazil," explained Gerd, who became a Bayer 04 fan at a young age due to the close connection of the club to Brazil. "I was totally happy a few weeks ago when I saw on the website that the team was coming here to Rio. That was a really great day for me." He said about the fan meetup: "Events like this are special. The atmosphere here with the other fans, the staff and Paulo Sergio is very relaxed and pleasant. And the game against Flamengo will definitely be great as well."

The fans present were officially invited by Bayer 04 to the friendly against the CR Flamengo U20s on Friday. The next chapter in this uniquely special German-Brazilian relationship will be written then – this time on the pitch…