Carro used the time for meetings with senior representatives of North and South American sports business, visited the stands of La Liga and Serie A and also mixed among the 2,000 participants as a passionate networker at the congress centre of the rainy city.
The senior conversational partners of the Spaniard included Carlos Sanchez, managing director of Fox Deportes, Italy's Serie A boss Luigi di Servio plus Julie Uhrmann, who as the CEO of Angel City FC Is currently responsible for probably the most exciting women's football project in the USA founded by stars such as Natalie Portman and Serena Williams. At the Congress there was also a meeting with Italy's World Cup winner and Serie A ambassador Alessandro Del Piero that included a presentation of a shirt.
"These trips are demanding," said Carro about the short journey to the south-east coast of the USA. "But it's important to think outside the box. At these events, you get a good insight into the global football market and a better feeling for the demands on a contemporary and successful league or club management."
Carro, a keen advocate for a strong global presence for German clubs, also gained important thoughts about the future of the Bundesliga: "The Bundesliga continues to be one of the top leagues in the world. It offers quality, spectacle and stadium atmosphere that is unequalled. The Bundesliga does not have to hide from anyone as the number two in terms of worldwide spectator statistics. But this status quo is not set in stone. Our competitors are not asleep."
Carro, a member of the supervisory committee of the DFL subsidiary Bundesliga International, sees a key role for the future competitiveness of Germany's top flight with the crucial input from a strategic partner at the DFL general meeting on 11 December: "If the Bundesliga experience is to remain of such high quality as it was before then we have to face up to global competition, be on the ball and innovative, invest smartly in our product and, above all, be brave at the right points and open to new ideas. But that requires the means, resources and more expertise. A strategic partner would be enormously important for the future viability of the Bundesliga."
Carro was joined on the trip to the USA by communications director Holger Tromp as well as Leonardo Giammarioli, the new head of internationalisation at Bayer 04. The small Leverkusen delegation was supported by the Mexican PR agency Extreme PR. The Bayer 04 boss fulfilled interview requests from the broadcasters TUDN (rights holder for the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League in the USA) and CBS Sports plus the US business portal Sportico.
Today sees Bayer 04 go head-to-head with their next direct rivals in the race for Champions League qualification (kick-off 15:30 CEST). Opponents Stuttgart are currently fifth in the table, level on points with the Werkself but one place below them due to a three-goal inferior goal difference. The Black and Reds' record at Bad Cannstatt tells a clearer story: they've not lost at VfB for over 16 years. One important factor in securing what would be three crucial points away from home is Leverkusen's strength on the counter-attack. Whilst Stuttgart are also extremely dangerous going forward, they will be without their captain. Today’s matchday news.
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It's a thrilling situation: as the season draws to a close, Stuttgart and Bayer 04 are heading into the home stretch almost neck and neck. After 32 games, with 17 wins, seven draws and eight defeats each, both teams are on 58 points. Even in terms of goals scored, VfB and the Werkself are level on 66. The Black and Reds have conceded just three fewer goals (43) than their rivals (46), which is why they sit one place behind fourth-placed Leverkusen. This Saturday, 9 May (kick-off: 15.30 CEST), the two teams go head to head at the MHP Arena in Stuttgart. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with full-back Arthur ahead of schedule. The Werkself have agreed a new deal with the Brazilian to 30 June 2031. The 23-year-old was previously under contract to the summer of 2028.
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