
Some 60 children attending the Bayer 04 Soccer School were in the press conference room at the BayArena on Thursday afternoon eagerly expecting the arrival of Noah Mbamba and Madi Monamay. After a vocal reception, the 6- to 14-year-olds fired off questions to the Belgian duo about how they started football and their motives for moving under the Bayer Cross. "Leverkusen are a good team. We want to achieve a lot here," Monamay told the children.
Mbamba revealed to the children that he met Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Co. in the group match against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2021/22 Champions League campaign and that it was one of the absolute highlights of his career to date. Monamay answered the question of how he wanted to achieve his dream of being a professional footballer: "Through discipline, hard work in training and belief in myself.".

Mbamba and Monamay also answered in response to the classic questions of "Messi or Ronaldo?" and "Who is your favourite player?" Defender Monamay named World Cup and European Championship winner Sergio Ramos with the explanation: "He's a good player of outstanding merit and one of my idols in football."
All the questions were answered by the end of the 30-minute children's press conference. The Leverkusen players finished off by happily fulfilling all autograph and photo requests – and after a good hour they left happy and clearly satisfied children at the Bayer 04 Soccer School.

The Bayer 04 women’s team secured a win in the friendly during the international break. Without a total of eight international players, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team defeated Bundesliga 2 side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 at the Kurtekotten Training Centre, thanks to goals from Lobke Loonen (1’, penalty), Caroline Kehrer (41') and Valentina Mädl (66').
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Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
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During the first international break of the 2026/27 season, set to last just under three weeks, nine Bayer 04 first-team players are in action with their respective national teams. Read on for updates on matches featuring Werkself players…
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Fun, games and promising talent: At the fourth Bayer 04 Junior Girls’ Talent Day at the Kurtekotten training centre, 90 football-mad girls had the chance to put themselves forward for the Werkself youth teams. During a 90-minute training session, children born between 2011 and 2019 had the chance to demonstrate their skills.
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