Hradecky: 'Fans are like a twelfth man to us'

A Mexican wave swept through the packed ranks as the Werkself came onto the stage decorated with black and red balloons. Head coach Gerardo Seoane showed he was thrilled by the warm welcome in discussion with the stadium announcers Pitti Dahl and Tobias Ufer: "It's great that so many fans have come here after a long break due to the coronavirus pandemic. A lot of children have been here at training sessions over the past few weeks. We all like to play football but we do it for our fans and spectators. We want to thrill people.”

Hradecky: "the reaction counts"

For better or worse, the Swiss coach was again clear about yesterday's exit from the DFB Cup: "We are extremely disappointed, we had great plans and imagined it would turn out differently. It was a poor performance from everybody, staff and players and now it's about showing a reaction straightaway."

And the Werkself captain Lukas Hradecky was self-critical: "I slept badly, the defeat still hurts. It was a dark day for us," said the keeper before adding: "But the reaction next Saturday counts regardless of what we say now. Last season we showed we could bounce back after setbacks again and again and we want to show that again now. The fans are an enormous help. They're like a twelfth man to us."

Seoane: "be humble and work hard"

Looking forwards, Seoane set out the targets for the Bundesliga opener against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday 6 August (kick-off: 18.30 CEST): "After yesterday, the first thing is to be humble and work hard. I'm happy that the season started with a game like this and that we've come straight to the point."

And sporting managing director Simon Rolfes also talked about medium-term targets: "We want to remain one of the best four clubs in Germany and be in the top 16 in Europe. That's our ambition."

Probably the loudest reception went to Werkself player Florian Wirtz who provided updates on his current training status in discussion with Pitti and Tobi: "I'm continuing to try and get my knee back in shape and get time on the pitch. It will take a while but we’re on the right track and I'm continuing to do all I can to get back in the team soon and play in front of fans at the stadium again."

Schick receives fan award

A great honour for Patrik Schick: The striker was named Player of the Season 2021/22. Representing all Black and Red fans who took part in the vote, Bayer 04 fan Marie-Claire today presented the trophy to the Czech Republic international. "I'd like to thank everybody who voted for me, I'm very happy about it but my focus now is on repeating that performance level. At the same time, I don't just want to be successful as an individual player but also be successful with the team," said the number 14 with ambition.

De Pauw: "we want to finish in top five"

Another highlight was the appearance of the Bayer 04 Women's squad. The players came on stage individually to loud applause. Finally the new Women's team coach Robert de Pauw had the opportunity to speak and he presented clear targets for the coming season: "We want to play attractive, dynamic and creative football – but there are also games where you have to fight for each other. We want to finish in the top five in the league and go as far as we can in the cup."

Pitti and Tobias also invited Thomas Eichin, head of the Performance Centre, onto the stage. The 55-year-old revealed some exciting insights into his day-to-day work in the Youth and Women's sections: "With the U19s, our main job is to bring young players through to the first team squad. With the Women's team we are already at a high level – nevertheless we have to try to continue to strengthen women's football."

Food trucks, competitions, participation activities

The Bayer 04 Clubs invited fans to try things out, join in and take part in competitions. The young fans spent the whole day enjoying countless football options and activities from a bouncy castle, the popular Robokeeper through to the Bayer 04 Soccer School soccer cage. And there was something for everybody with the different food trucks.

Bayer 04 thank all Black and Red fans for coming and look forward to a successful season together in 2022/23.