Gerardo Seoane on…
…the current personnel situation: There were no serious injuries from the Wolfsburg game. Karim (Bellarabi, ed.) has made a successful comeback after his injury. Rob (Andrich, ed.) was also up to the full 90 minutes at the weekend. In the international break it's about looking after players so there are no new problems. Patrik (Schick, ed.) is now beginning the second phase of his rehab and is gradually joining in with full training. Everything has gone well up to now. At the same time, muscle injuries like that involving ligaments are always somewhat more complicated to assess than for example a break so we will have to be very careful in terms of workload. Andrey (Lunev, ed.) will probably be back with the team next week.
… the organisation of this week's training: We consciously wanted to do things a bit differently this week. For us it was about being more careful in training and not risking any new problems. That's why we worked more on stamina on Tuesday, Wednesday included a fitness programme and there will be another programme on Thursday. The players have the weekend off so that we can start again on Monday at our full strength.
…Julian Baumgartlinger’s progress: Baumi has done a lot of sessions with high intensity in recent weeks. He is in a very good state of fitness. Then it's always about observing how the body reacts and that's mostly going up and down but also step-by-step more and more in the right direction. He is not yet 100% so there is a lack of power in challenges but he's already able to get fully involved and has confidence in his own body. It's always difficult to join in in the middle of the season because you not only have little time to adjust but we also have to weigh up if it's too early and when not. Given our current situation, I'm sure he will still be important for us. Above all, Baumi is an important part of our team in terms of character. He's always motivated, supports others, has a lot of energy, good dynamism and takes responsibility.
…the role of Odilon Kossounou in the right-back position: Odilon obviously interprets the role of right-back differently from Jeremie (Frimpong, ed.) due to his qualities. That also always changes the shape of the game. As coaching staff, we always have to see what opportunities we have to use players where they can bring us the most benefit. That means we can play with a back three or a back four. He provides stability in defence above all through his physique, strength in challenges and power. It's difficult to get past him. But he is also quick and valuable at set pieces. The switch from position in central defence to the right-back position is generally pretty big but he can adapt quickly and has done it very well.
…targets for the rest of the season: There are always different phases in a season. At the start, it was primarily about focusing on development and continual improvement of performances and now, towards the end of the season, it's about being effective and positive results. We know it will be tight right to the end because there most probably won't be any team who will win or lose all of their remaining games. Therefore, we don't want to look at others or make loads of calculations but instead produce our maximum in every game and end by securing a Champions League place. For us that's an important interim target in view of the future for keeping the team together and developing further.
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.
Show more