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."
In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
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Rieden reloaded: Just like last year, the Bayer 04 Women’s team are spending their summer training camp in this idyllic corner of Bavaria. From this Sunday, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team will be based in Rieden in the Upper Palatinate for a week.
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Following the summer break, most of the players are back in Leverkusen. While two Bayer 04 first-team players are still in action at the World Cup, the players present officially kicked off the new season with fitness assessments. At the Werkstatt, the Bayer 04 rehabilitation and training centre, Robert Andrich, Edmond Tapsoba and the rest of the squad worked up quite a sweat in the sweltering summer heat. New signings Afonso Moreira and Kennet Eichhorn also successfully completed the day’s sessions alongside their new team-mates.
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The Werkself return tomorrow, Tuesday 14 July (from 11:00 CEST at the BayArena; live stream on bayer04.de, the Bayer 04 app and YouTube), with new head coach Carles Martínez leading his first training session as part of the Bayer 04 set-up. His coaching team comprises a mix of new and long-standing colleagues.
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