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."
Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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Nathan Tella has extended his contract with Bayer 04 to 2031. In an interview with Werkself TV, the 26-year-old talks about fulfilling his dreams, his positive outlook on life and his goals for the future. He answers the questions in English - all except the last one, which he addresses directly to the fans...
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In the final international break in the current 2025/26 campaign, Bayer 04 striker Patrik Schick with Czechia will be battling for a place at the World Cup. Meanwhile, national teams that have already qualified, include other Werkself players called up, are involved in friendlies in the build-up to the World Cup. Read on for an overview of the Leverkusen internationals and their match dates.
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The Werkself kicked off the final international break of the current season on Monday morning with the first of three open training sessions this week. While eleven Bayer 04 players will be away on international duty in the coming days, the other players will be working together in Leverkusen. The next challenge in the Bundesliga awaits on Saturday, 4 April (kick-off: 15:30 CEST) with the home game against VfL Wolfsburg.
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