28.07.2026Football Academy

‘I wear my favourite club on my chest’: Kids’ press conference with Oermann and Berghoff

After the children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy grilled Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch last week, another group of 20 young Werkself fans gathered at the BayArena press conference room on Tuesday afternoon, 28 July . This time, the kids directed their questions at Tim Oermann and Jonah Berghoff. Defender Oermann raved about his school days, whilst talented midfielder Berghoff revealed to the young footballers, amongst other things, who his favourite player is – and he is also at Bayer 04. To round things off, the pair naturally obliged with all requests for autographs and selfies.

Kids-PK mit Tim Oermann und Jonah Berghoff

Tim Oermann and Jonah Berghoff had only just taken their seats on the podium in the BayArena press conference room to thunderous applause, when the first questions from the young, up-and-coming journalists were already flying their way. They patiently answered the classic question “Messi or Ronaldo?” first – Berghoff opted for the Portuguese player, whilst Oermann chose the Argentine. The inquisitive audience then wanted to find out more about the personalities of the two Bayer 04 players.

"i like to take my cue from his style of play"

The question of whether the pair liked school sparked a difference of opinion: while Berghoff can hardly wait to finish his Abitur exams next year, Oermann – who is four years older – sees his school days in a slightly different light: “I do miss it sometimes. Enjoy it while you’re there.”

Opinions were more similar when it came to the pair’s favourite clubs. Berghoff, who has been playing for Bayer 04 since the U9s, was immediately certain: “I wear the club closest to my heart on my chest. I was already a big Bayer 04 fan before I came here. That hasn’t changed since then.” While Oermann is certainly fond of his home club, VfL Bochum, he said: “I also identify very strongly with Bayer 04”.

Unsurprisingly, Berghoff’s choice of favourite player also fell on a Werkself player: “Exequiel Palacios is very similar to me in terms of playing style – even though he’s, of course, still many, many steps ahead of me. I like his approach on the pitch and I like to model my own play on his.” The 18-year-old, however, named Oermann as his favourite team-mate – to which Oermann replied with a laugh: “Well, of course I’ve got to pick Jonah too.” Although the centre-back didn’t share Berghoff’s hobby of reading biographies of successful athletes, he did reveal that he enjoys going out with friends and drinking coffee.

FUN, selfies, autographs

To round things off, the question of how many World Cups the two Leverkusen players had already won provided a light-hearted moment. Berghoff replied with a smile: “Lots in my garden, but unfortunately none in real life yet.” Oermann was optimistic: “That’s sure to come in the next few years.”

Instead of the World Cup trophy, however, the lads ended up holding the children’s water bottles, football boots and shin pads this afternoon, and were busily signing autographs on them. Of course, a group photo was a must before the young footballers gave their idols an enthusiastic send-off.

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