The son of a Spanish immigrant, born and raised in Luzern, made 227 top-flight appearances in Switzerland. Seoane played for FC Luzern, FC Sion, FC Aarau and the Zürich club Grasshoppers. According to a number of football afficianados in Switzerland, the fact the talented central defender "only" played for the Switzerland U21s is in part due to an unconventional career decision. At the age of 19, he joined the Spanish club Deportivo La Coruna. However, Seoane was unable to make a breakthrough in the Galician home of his parents. He only played for the second team at Deportivo in his three and a half years on the Iberian peninsular.
He ended his playing career at FC Luzern at the age of 31 in 2010 and then became a youth coach at his hometown club. When Markus Babbel was dismissed as coach in January 2018, he took over as first-team manager and within half a season led the club from a relegation spot to third place. That attracted the attention of the big clubs in Switzerland. In the end, Young Boys Bern, who had just won the Swiss league, appointed Seoane as successor to Adi Hütter.
'Gerry', as he is widely known in Switzerland, continued his run of success in the capital. He further developed the attacking approach of his predecessor and the team stormed their way to the top of the league. Young Boys became Swiss champions with 99 goals and a 20-point lead. A year later came a successful title defence and in the current campaign YB are also already confirmed champions of Switzerland with seven games to play. The lead over the second-placed team from Basel is 28 points.
In addition, the Swiss club reached a European Round of 16 for the first time since the 1980s. They came through in a group with CFR Cluj and CSKA Sofia and knocked Bayer 04 out in the next round. However, the Swiss champions were unable to overcome Ajax in the Round of 16.
For the former Gladbach keeper Jörg Stiel, Gerardo Seoane is an "intelligent, young, ambitious coach. He communicates really well." The new Werkself coach not only speaks perfect German and Spanish. 'Gerry' also speaks French, English, Italian and Portuguese fluently. In addition, he has continued to develop his knowledge in management and communication. "If he maintains this thirst for knowledge," the Swiss manager Erich Vogel is sure, "he can develop into an absolute top coach and follow in the footsteps of Ottmar Hitzfeld."
With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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A successful fourth preseason friendly ahead of the start of the training camp: The Werkself secured a 3-0 victory over Rot-Weiss Essen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The goals in what was a commanding and dominant performance by Leverkusen from the outset were scored by Ibrahim Maza (8'), Patrik Schick from the penalty spot (23’) and, in the second half, Montrell Culbreath with a header (79’). The team set off for their training camp in Blankenhain in the Weimarer Land region after the game.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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You have voted – your ‘Team of the Quarter-Century’ has been decided! This historic selection, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, features honorary captains, Bundesliga champions, double winners and Champions League finalists. Edmond Tapsoba is the only player from the current Bayer 04 squad to make it into the starting XI, while his team-mate Patrik Schick is on the bench. Simon Rolfes, the current managing director sport, is also in the lie-up. A truly special team that brings together a quarter of a century of Bayer 04 history – and has left a decisive mark on the club.
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Following Patrik Schick, Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Kerim Alajbegovic earlier this week, the next World Cup participant is back on the training ground in Leverkusen: On Thursday 30 July, Malik Tillman rejoined the squad, completing his first training session under head coach Carles Martínez.
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