Two weeks after the Bayer 04 goalkeeper Niklas Lomb visited the soccer school, it was the turn of Werkself defender Jonathan Tah to attend the "somewhat different" media event following today's training session.
At 12.30, the Werkself number four reached the packed press conference room at the BayArena with the 6- to 14-year-old kids from the Bayer 04 Soccer School waiting full of excitement. A few minutes later there was huge joy and applause when the door finally opened and the central defender entered the room.
Following the vocal welcome, the youngsters had the chance to put a wide variety of questions the giant defender: On his career as a football player, his best memories in a Black and Red shirt or his best buddy in the team. The answer from the Hamburg-born player to the last question: Edmond Tapsoba who the 26-year-old has formed the central defensive partnership at Leverkusen with since 2020.
The biggest laugh came in response to the question of which of his Germany teammates "fools about most." After a moment's thought, it was clear to Tah, who has been at Leverkusen since 2015: Leroy Sané – "He is definitely the biggest joker with his 'mop of hair' and he always has a cheeky word or two to say."
At the end of the questions, all of the 60 children were able to get one or several autographs on drink bottles, rucksacks or different parts of the kit. The requests covered a wide area: It didn't matter whether it was the shoulder or the number on the back – Tah met all the children's wishes, answering more questions from the inquisitive kids and he also took a number of selfies. One or two children thought of friends and family and they went for it two or three times: "For grandad, my best mate and the rest of the family," said one beaming boy.
Before Jona said goodbye there was time for a group photo with the smiling children and teenagers proudly standing in front of, behind and next to the defender.
A very successful afternoon for the visibly happy youngsters at the Bayer 04 Soccer School. And Tah was also enthusiastic about the event: "Events like this just make the most fun because you can see the excitement in the kids’ eyes and, of course, you get completely different questions than usual. (He laughs)”
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