Seoane sees the game against the team sitting sixth in Italy’s Serie A as a very complex endeavour. “Both teams are very attacking but also have a compact defence,” the 43-year-old said. The hosts may be without two strikers in Duvan Zapata and Josip Ilicic, but the Swiss tactician still regards Gian Piero Gasperini’s side as a good and dangerous collective. “They’ve developed well in recent years. It’ll be a tough job, but we can do it.”
Goalkeeper Hradecky has prior experience of facing Gasperini’s team. “I played a friendly here in Bergamo with Frankfurt in 2016 pre-season,” the 32-year-old stated at the press conference. “They were still on their way to the top in Italy at the time. Now they’re a very experienced European team.”
The Leverkusen No.1 is looking forward to an exciting tie against the Italians: “They are extremely aggressive and snappy, but we’ve studied their team well and have to show a mature performance tomorrow.”
Seoane has 19 players available to him for Thursday. The players who haven’t made the journey are goalkeeper Andrey Lunev (ankle), striker Patrik Schick (muscular), winger Karim Bellarabi (muscular), and midfielders Robert Andrich (knee problems), Julian Baumgartlinger (not in the European squad) and Kerem Demirbay (suspended).
Demirbay’s suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards means Seoane has already confirmed that Charles Aranguiz and Exequiel Palacios will be his two holding midfielders. “Both are well capable of being able to make a mark in attack and defence.”
Calling all Bayer 04 fans: The Werkself will play Pisa SC, newly promoted to Serie A, at the BayArena as part of the season opener. The clash with the club from Tuscany is on Tuesday, 5 August with the kick-off at 18:00 CET. Entrance to the stadium with a wide range of entertainment provided is possible from 15:00 CEST. Read on for information on ticket sales for the season opener.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen have signed the 17-year-old forward Dustin Buck. The Germany youth international joins from the youth set-up at FC Augsburg. The technically gifted and fast attacker will strengthen the Werkself U19 squad.
Show moreSeveral Bayer 04 Legends, Bayer executives, club officials, current defender Arthur and, of course, dozens of enthusiastic children turned out on Saturday on the south side of Sao Paulo for the official opening of the Bayer 04 Football Academy, located at Club Bayer on the campus of Bayer Brazil.
Show moreA great night for 'Calle': Bayer 04 new signing Carlotta Wamser helped Germany to an opening win in the Women's Euro in Switzerland with an impressive performance. After coming on as a substitute in the 2-0 victory over Poland in Group C, the winger provided an assist and helped set up the second goal. The 21-year-old earned great praise from her coach and teammates in her first tournament match.
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