Hello Adrian, how did it come about that you’re in the Bundesliga Home Challenge with Kai?
In the middle of February, ‘Deto’ and I played against Lucas Alario and Wendell during a PR day and we won 2-0. I don’t know whether the win was down to me (he laughs). When the request came from Florian Dederichs (head of internationalisation and eSports at Bayer 04, ed.) a few days ago, I was happy to say yes.
Professional football is suspended at the moment due to the coronavirus pandemic. Have you used your time over the past few days to train on the console?
I mainly spend my time training for real football at the moment and keeping myself as fit as possible. I push the treadmill onto the terrace and train in the garden in the fresh air. Of course, I’ve played a few games on PlayStation over the past few days since I got the thumbs-up but I’m just looking to have fun with it.
What tactics do you prefer on the console?
I used to play PlayStation 2 and 3 as well as FIFA. Over the years, I’ve noticed I’m more of a counter-attacking player who wants to quickly bag a couple of goals and then sit back – I’m not good at holding onto the ball in virtual football. But I’ll definitely ask Kai for one or two tips before the game.
Do you reckon you might get one or two messages from your teammates if you lose to the Darmstadt player Felix Platte?
They’ll definitely get in touch if I do lose… (he laughs)
On the Bundesliga Home Challenge:
The DFL Bundesliga Home Challenge is an eSports tournament with 26 clubs from the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 taking part. Each club has a team made up of at least one first team player and a person “from the relevant club or closely linked to it.” The duos – each of them at home – play online in two individual games on the football game FIFA 20 and on PlayStation 4 (‘85-mode’). The matches will be broadcast on the Virtual Bundesliga YouTube channel and the clashes involving Bayer 04 will also be on the ‘b04esports’ Twitch channel. Bayer 04 TV will also show highlights.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed 16-year-old midfield prospect Gabriel Minutillo on a long-term contract. The Germany youth international will play for the U19s this season.
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Bayer 04 preparations for the 2026/27 season are in full swing, with the first friendly now under their belts. Although there are still around seven weeks to go until the first Bundesliga home game in early September, there is already huge anticipation for the start of competitive action for head coach Carles Martínez’s team at the BayArena. For the Bundesliga home matches of the new season, here is the latest information regarding the first phase of single-match ticket sales. The tried-and-tested early-bird phase remains in place. From 23 to 31 July, tickets for matches will go on sale on weekdays; the early-bird phase ends on 5 August at the latest – provided tickets are still available by then.
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Just in time for the start of the summer holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia, the Werkself will hold another open training session on Tuesday 21 July. The session at the BayArena is scheduled to start at 11:00 CEST and will again be available to watch in a live stream. The fans who are there can look forward to a very special surprise.
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Bayer 04 Women rounded off their one-week training camp in the Upper Palatinate with their second friendly win of pre-season. Coach Roberto Pätzold's side beat Czech top-flight outfit Slovan Liberec 6-0 in a match consisting of 4 x 30 minutes. Maja Sternad (8'), Caroline Kehrer (55'), Natasha Kowalski (67', 84') with two direct free kicks, Valentina Mädl (97') and Justine Brandau (107') scored the goals for Leverkusen at 1.FC Rieden's Fenstertechnik-Weinfurtner-Arena.
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