Simon Rolfes, sporting managing director at Bayer 04, Kim Falkenberg, head of recruitment at Bayer 04, and Paulo Sergio, Bayer 04 legend, began the day with a breakfast with local members of the media where subjects for discussion included current developments at the club.
After talking to the media, the Bayer 04 delegation made their way to the Colegio Benjamin Constant primary school to take part in a training session with the schoolchildren. Rolfes launched the session with motivational words for the children while Sergio did tricks with the ball that made him one of the most dangerous strikers in the world when he played for Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and AS Roma. Hundreds of schoolchildren watched excitedly, joined in with the session along with Simon Rolfes and Kim Falkenberg and encouraged each other in a relaxed atmosphere.
The Trophy Tour and the day ended with an evening at the Goethe-Institut in São Paulo where the Bayer 04 documentary 'A Dream Comes True' we showed for the first time with Portuguese subtitles. The three former Bayer 04 players Paulo Sergio, Zé Roberto and Henrique joined the audience. The players shared their views of the historic double winning season for the Werkself. The trio also recalled their time at Leverkusen and emphasise the ability of the club to successfully integrate players from different cultures over the years. Sergio played under the Cross from 1993 to 1997, Zé Roberto followed shortly after that from 1998 to 2002 and Henrique joined on loan a couple of years later in the 2008/2009 season.
The four part documentary of the double season, produced by Prime Video, Warner Brothers and in partnership with Bayer 04, was first broadcast in German-speaking countries in September and is now being made available in other global target markets by TV Globo.
Rolfes summed up the tour as follows: "Our days here were quite tiring, it's such a big city full of energy. But the programme, cultural impressions and, above all, talking to so many people were great and inspiring – for Bayer 04 but also for me personally."
The Bayer 04 Women's first-team squad has taken on three homegrown players: Louisa Remien, Paula Schwartze and Amy Wrigge will be part of the Bundesliga team for the new season.
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The season card waiting list, introduced by Bayer 04 last season, is open to Bayer 04 Club members. Read on for further information.
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Olá, Brasil! The Bayer 04 flight landed safely in Rio de Janeiro early on Tuesday morning local time. From the airport it was straight to the beach in immediate proximity to the team hotel where club legend Paulo Sergio welcomed the team. The first training session is on the agenda in the afternoon. Bayer04.de will provide a close-up report on the Werkself over the next ten days with one blog per day giving insights into the events on tour. Day one of the Bayer 04 Brazil Tour (timings are in local time).
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The Werkself training camp officially began early on Tuesday morning with the landing in Rio de Janeiro. Ahead of the first session in the afternoon local time, bayer04.de profiles the talented youngsters from the youth teams who have travelled to Brazil.
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The welcome in Brazil could not have been more fitting: Paulo Sergio, with a small Bayer 04 delegation, welcomed the Werkself to Rio de Janeiro on the beach in front of the team hotel on Tuesday morning local time. Under clear blue skies, players, coaches and staff joined together for a group photo and then it was off to the rooms and breakfast. Shortly after the Werkself arrived, club legend Paulo Sergio, who will accompany the Werkself over the coming days, talked bayer04.de about these emotional moments for him.
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