As at the training camp in Salzburger Land, Fernando Carro wanted to introduce himself to the fans. Together with Rudi Völler (sporting managing director), the Werkself head coach Heiko Herrlich and club captain Lars Bender, the new chairman of the Bayer 04 board took the opportunity to get close to the fans in Q&A session – which also included some tough questions from the fans.
The subjects under discussion included the allocation of the number 11 shirt to Isaac Kiese Thelin, which was worn by club legend Stefan Kießling up to the summer. In spite of fully understanding the disquiet of certain sections of the Bayer 04 support, Lars Bender called for everybody to get behind the new signing. Particularly as the Swede said it was "a great honour" to be able to wear the number worn by Kießling for many years. The skipper drew loud applause for that statement.
"It's good to be asked critical questions from time to time. We can only get to the bottom of things when we know what our fans are thinking," said Herrlich before adding: "We have every reason to be thankful as the support was brilliant last season: We experienced great backing all the way – also at times when it wasn't going that well. For example, I can think of the game at Köln, which was a disaster for all of us on the pitch. Despite that, our fans gave us great support again the following week. That gave us a real boost."
After the hour-long discussion at the BayArena, the fans moved on to the beer garden on the north side of the ground to round off the event in a sociable atmosphere. Fernando Carro, Meinolf Sprink (community affairs and fans director) were there too along with the team from the Fan House represented by Frank Linde, Andreas Paffrath and Rüdiger Vollborn to chat with the fans. "It's really important to get together as we all share the same aim: We want to be successful on the pitch. In order to achieve that sporting success it's important for our fans to support the team in good as well as difficult times," said Carro.
A training course for external coaches covering age groups U8 to U13 on 'Effective coaching in junior football' was held at the BayArena this week. The course, with this initial event ahead of a series of training units, was aimed at coaches and sporting management of clubs in the area of Leverkusen. It was very well received.
Show moreTo gain access to the stadium as a member of the media on Werkself home matchdays you need accreditation from Bayer 04. From now, you can submit the application for accreditation exclusively via our online registration form at bayer04.de.
Show moreIn keeping with the Trophy Tour in Brazil starting today, Bayer04.de looks back at the long-standing link between the Werkself and Brazilian players. The list is long as well as impressive. 24 Brazilian players have worn the Bayer 04 Leverkusen jersey from 1987 to the present day. Tita was the first under the Bayer Cross having come to Germany after ten years at top Brazilian clubs Vasco da Gama, Flamengo Rio de Janeiro and Gremio Porto Alegre. He played a crucial part in the Werkself winning their first major trophy in that season: the UEFA Cup in 1988.
Show moreIn the third home fixture in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League campaign, the Werkself entertain the Italian champions Inter Milan at the BayArena. The game on Matchday 6 is on Tuesday, 10 December (kick-off: 21.00 CET). Read on for the information on ticket sales for this game.
Show moreTrophies on Tour: The Bayer 04 delegation led by sporting managing director Simon Rolfes is set to take the Trophy Tour to Brazil. Ahead of the first events tomorrow, 12 November, Bayer04.de spoke to Simon Rolfes prior to the flight to São Paulo about the motivation for the tour, the planned events and the long-standing connection between Bayer 04 and Brazil.
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