Born in Madrid, Mario Hermoso joined the youth set-up at Real Madrid at the age of ten. He progressed through all the junior teams at the record Champions League winners and in 2015 he played for the reserve team Real Madrid Castilla. That was followed by a 12-month loan to second division Real Valladolid where he made his professional debut. In the following season in 2016/17, Hermoso regularly played for the Real Madrid reserve team before his long stay at Real Madrid drew to a close at the end of the season – for a good sporting reason.
In the summer of 2017, Hermoso moved up to the Primera Division, the forerunner of today's La Liga. He played for Espanyol and made his top-flight debut on 9 September 2017 in the derby against Barcelona. Hermoso quickly established himself in Spain's top division with 54 league appearances in two seasons – and he earned the first of a total of five international caps with Spain in that time.
Hermoso's performances at Espanyol and for Spain attracted the attention of Atletico Madrid who brought him back to the capital in the summer of 2019. The 1.84 metre tall left footer spent five successful years at the Rojiblancos, winning the Spanish league title with them in 2021 and clocking up 29 games in the Champions League.
Hermoso faced the Werkself four times in his time at Atletico. The record from the Champions League group stage encounters in 2019/20 and 22/23: one win, one draw, two defeats. Hermoso was in the starting line-up in all four matches.
Moreover: To date he has not played more games against any other foreign club then he has against his new club, the German double winners from Leverkusen…
Since 2023, Bayer 04 has been organising regular free goalkeeping coach training sessions at the BayArena. As in previous years, the event attracted enormous interest in mid-October 2026. Around 140 participants – mostly goalkeeping coaches from the region, but also team and academy coaches as well as association staff – came to the Werkself stadium to gain expert knowledge on the subject of zonal marking. Through a theoretical keynote presentation and a practical session on the pitch, the participants gained insights into goalkeeping and goalkeeper training at Bayer 04.
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The international break produced a full range of emotions for Bayer 04’s women. While four Leverkusen players were in play-off action to try and reach the World Cup, including two important goals, there were others in friendly action. Here’s a round-up of all the results…
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The NB Vintage Collection is here and available now! Members enjoy an exclusive priority purchase period (online shop only). Non-members will then be able to purchase items from Saturday 17 October (10:00 CEST). Sales will also begin at the same time at the Bayer 04 Fanwelt.
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On Matchday 1 of the UEFA Europa League league phase, Lech Poznań suffered a heavy defeat at Crystal Palace. Now the Polish champions will be looking for a more successful outcome in their first home game against the Werkself this Thursday, 15 October (kick-off 18:45 CEST) - and banking on a strong attack. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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