Born in the northern Argentinian province of Chaco, Claudio Echeverri moved to the capital Buenos Aires to join the world-famous club River Plate at the age of eleven. After five years in the youth teams, the right-footer played his first game for the second team in the autumn of 2022. He made his debut in Argentina's top-flight with the first team in June 2023 and at the end of the year he had won three trophies including the Argentinian league title.
The top English club Manchester City signed the highly talented Argentinian in January 2024 but then loaned him out to the end of the year to River Plate. In the last calendar year, Echeverri made over 40 appearances in his home country as he finally made the breakthrough.
He joined the top team in Manchester at the end of February this year shortly after the U20 South American championship. At the end of the 2024/25 season Pep Guardiola played him in two games – on the final matchday of the Premier League season against Fulham and in the FA Cup final defeat.
This summer, Echeverri played for Manchester City in the FIFA Club World Cup in the USA. He was in the starting XI for the 6-0 victory over Al-Ain from the UAE and he scored two goals in that game.
The Argentina youth coaches have also utilised the technical ability of the new Leverkusen player in recent years. In the U17 World Cup at the end of 2023, he scored a hat-trick in the quarter-final against Brazil netting all the goals in the game. Echeverri has regularly played for the Argentina U20 team
At club level, the future for the midfielder is initially at the Werkself: “A lot of young players have made it to the top of the game here at Bayer Leverkusen. I want to take that path in the coming season and play my part in helping Bayer 04 achieve great things.”
Sandwiched between their UEFA Champions League knockout play-off tie against Olympiacos, Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action on Saturday with a trip to Union Berlin (kick-off: 15:30 CET). It’s a fixture of contrasting styles, with Leverkusen preferring to control the play while Union look to remain compact and counter. The Berliners are therefore suited to facing top teams, but they have only ever managed to win one of 16 meetings with the Werkself, who are looking for a fifth clean sheet of 2026 but will need to beware the home side’s threat from set pieces. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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After six wins in seven games, the Werkself will be looking to continue their winning run in the capital at FC Union Berlin. Coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke ahead of the match on Saturday, 21 February (kick-off: 15:30 CET) about defenders, the short preparation time and the condition of the pitch at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
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Union Berlin have performed particularly well against the top clubs in the Bundesliga this season with a draw at home to Bayern Munich and wins against VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig. This Saturday, 21 February (kick-off: 15:30 CET), the Irons now welcome the Werkself, currently sixth in the table, to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. And the hosts are in desperate need of a win. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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It took exactly 60 minutes for the Werkself to take the lead through a perfectly finished counter-attack by Patrik Schick in the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off at Olympiacos. Referring to the meeting in the league phase and the initially squandered opportunities, coach Kasper Hjulmand said afterwards: "I thought: 'Oh no, déjà-vu.'" But after the opening goal, it took just 144 seconds for the Czech to spark more wild celebrations among those in black and red in the Greek cauldron, when Schick nodded in Alejandro Grimaldo's corner. Much to the delight of the Bayer 04 fans, his teammates and his coach, who had warm words for the striker in the aftermath. The Werkself Review.
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