Gerardo Seoane on…
… the crucial factors for the win against Mainz 05: I think it’s difficult for every team to come out on top against the physical and direct Mainz team. But I have to praise the team as they put our plans into action on the pitch. We displayed a completely different attitude. The crucial element I saw was the readiness to tackle and challenge and the resulting number of duels won. We didn’t give Karim Onisiwo and Jonathan Burkardt much space over the full 90 minutes and we also definitely had the upper hand in the match. That influences the whole energy in a game like that.
… the mood after the first win: We need several good performances and positive results. It was an important win that was needed and helpful but we are aware that we are still a long way from where we want to be. The Sunday training session was obviously good but we also tried to finish dealing with the game on the day. From today we are totally focussed on the next opponents. To that extent, our mood was not significantly different from usual. We had and today have a positive mood and excitement in the team.
… the focus in training this week: It’s always my belief that we as coaches are able to identify what’s required and needed as best as possible: What will the game be like, what will the opponents offer. At the same time, we try to find the right mix between our thoughts, the players available to us, what confidence we can bring and many other factors. It’s our job every week – to anticipate what sort of game we’ll see and prepare for it accordingly.
… the next opponents SC Freiburg: I see Freiburg as a team with many sides and strengths. They are – similar to Mainz – very determined in challenges, have a strong mentality they can call on in every match and their game has developed in the past few years so you have to take them seriously as the league table reflects at the moment. They will pose us a lot of questions so we need that same team spirit again to come out on top.
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 personalised 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…
Show moreTo all Bayer 04 fans: The Fanwelt will be closed all day next Monday 30 June. This is due to preparations for the change of kit supplier from Castore to New Balance on Tuesday 1 July.
Show moreThe Norway U23 international Julie Jorde has completed the move from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Brøndby IF. The twelve-time champions of Denmark have signed the midfielder on permanent terms after her loan move from the Bundesliga to Denmark in the winter.
Show moreIt is almost two years since Bayer 04 new signing Abdoulaye Faye first stepped foot into the BayArena as a player for the Swedish club BK Häcken in the opening match in the 2023/24 Europa League campaign. A day before his nineteenth birthday, the central defender did not play in the 4-0 win for the Werkself but it was "an incredible night" for him on 21 September 2023 as he explained in his first interview on bayer04.de. "I watched the players and saw the fans. I liked it." It was also the first European night early on in his career. He only joined the then champions of Sweden in the cold north of Europe from his home in Senegal a few weeks before that special moment. Bayer04.de profiles our new defender.
Show moreWelcome, Abdoulaye Faye. The 20-year-old Senegalese central defender joins Leverkusen from top-flight Swedish club BK Häcken. In his first interview he talks about his move to Bayer 04 and his targets with the Werkself.
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