#VamosWerkself – Day seven: Alario as captain

While the whole group normally follow the same routine on matchdays, it was obviously different today. There was a communal breakfast at 7.30 and then the Werkself split up. The team that had to face FC Utrecht at 14.00 had lunch at 11.00 followed by a team meeting at 13.15 before the players were taken to La Manga Club stadium. At that time, the other team that played FC St. Gallen at 16.00, was at lunch. That was also followed by a meeting and departure at 15.15. While the team led by the captain Lars Bender were going in search of an equaliser in the second half against Utrecht, the squad for the game against the Swiss were warming up on the neighbouring pitch.

Captain’s arm band for Alario

Lucas Alario skippered the Werkself in the second match. And that appeared to bring luck. At the summer training camp in Zell am See, he took over as captain from Karim Bellarabi in the 2-2 draw with SD Eibar and netted a brace enabling Bayer 04 to come back from being 2-0 down. This time it ended in victory despite being behind twice (0-1 and 1-2). Alario made it 3-2 against St. Gallen after a great move involving Exequiel Palacios and Mitchell Weiser.

Bosz praises Palacios

The new Argentine signing with the number 22 shirt earned praise from the head coach after making his debut for the Werkself: “He did well. He was involved from the start. And the longer the game went on, he showed he is a good player when he was on the ball,” said Bosz who stuck to his guns by not wanting to overvalue the first appearance of the Argentine but he did express his regret that Palacios is suspended for the first three league games in the second half of the season. “Of course, his time will come,” said Bosz who added with a wink: “Unfortunately, the DFB confirmed it on Wednesday. Sadly.”

Clear heads

Kai Havertz definitely stood out in the first game. Like all his team-mates, the 20-year-old Germany international found it difficult to get into the game against Utrecht but he improved after half-time. He scored the first and third goals for the Werkself and also had other chances. That was no surprise for Peter Bosz. “For Kai – as for all young players – it’s important to have a clear head. He played well today. He not only scored two goals but also put in a lot of running and made himself available again and again,” said Bosz, who, like the sporting managing director Rudi Völler, is certain that in the second half of the season we will see the Kai Havertz of the second half of the season 2018/19.

Wörns next to Völler

There were about 300 spectators in the small stadium for the two Werkself friendlies. That included a number of football VIPs. That included the former Leverkusen player Christian Wörns, winner of the DFB Cup with the Werkself in 1993, who watched the Utrecht game with Rudi Völler, as well as DFB coaching colleagues of Wörns, currently looking after the U17s. Manuel Baum (U20) was an interested observer and Mike Büskens (assistant coach of the U16s) were also in the stands. Also in the ground were: the former FC Kaiserslautern keeper Andreas Reinke, Thorsten Stuckmann (goalkeeper for Eintracht Braunschweig and Alemannia Aachen) plus the out of contract coach Maik Walpurgis (formerly FC Ingolstadt) and Sven Hübscher (last at Preußen Münster).

Gaedeke and Rüth

Both players joined the training camp late on – with the prospect of being on the bench. And perhaps some time on the pitch. In the end, it was 90 minutes for Fabian Rüth. The U19 defender started in central defence in the 3-2 win against St. Gallen. The last-minute loss of Sven Bender – he suffered a knock in a challenge during the Thursday training session and was rested – saw Panos Retsos play against Utrecht and Rüth played alongside Aleksandar Dragovic in central defence in the second game. He was able to pick up Brownie points just like his U19 team-mate Leon Gaedecke. The defender replaced Lars Bender on 72 minutes in the first game, and he came on at left-back in place of Mitchell Weiser with ten minutes to play against St. Gallen. While Gaedecke helped get the win against the Swiss, he was involved in the last goal against the Dutch side. He started the attack down the right flank that led to Kai Havertz scoring the third Werkself goal after a pass from Gaedecke and a one-two with Kevin Volland.

TV highlights

Anyone wanting to watch the Utrecht and St. Gallen games again can watch highlights on Bayer 04 TV.