Around 700 fans attended the Werkself open training session at the start of the second week of the Easter holidays. While the players who started in the 1-1 draw at FC St. Pauli completed a reduced set of drills and were able to dedicate themselves earlier than the other players to meeting the wishes of the fans for autographs and photos, head coach Xabi Alonso continued leading the training session including practising moves in restricted spaces. Afterwards, Robert Andrich, Victor Boniface and Co. signed shirts and posters for the supporters.
Amine Adli fielded questions from the media following the training session. The 24-year-old declared: "Of course, we are not at all happy with the result and the way we played against St. Pauli, that's absolutely clear. Unfortunately there can be weaker phases like that over the course of the season from time to time." And he added: "We know how good we can be and we want to end the season as well as we can. We will work hard on that and give our all!"
The striker also shared his views on his own position: "I continue to feel very happy and I always give everything for the club, my teammates and our fans."
After the interviews, the 15-time Morocco international Adli congratulated his fellow countryman Nassim El Massoudi, from the Bayer 04 U17 squad, on winning the U17 Africa Cup of Nations: "I followed the games with excitement and was really happy about the win. I'm very proud of Nassim and his teammates and they have made a whole country proud! I hope we see each other again soon here at the BayArena and I wish him all the best for his future!" The Morocco youth team beat Mali on penalties in the final a few days ago.
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The remaining training sessions before the home game against FC Augsburg on Saturday, 20 April (kick-off: 15:30 CEST) will be held behind closed doors. The training session on Sunday at 11:00 CEST is open to fans (subject to change without prior notice).
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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