Japanese partner club: Delegation from V-Varen Nagasaki visits Leverkusen again

For almost six years there has been close corporation in the area of youth teams between Bayer 04 and the second division Japanese club as part of the partnership. "We have had very intensive communication from the start with both sides having great interest in the work and culture of the other," said Slawomir Czarniecki, who visited Nagasaki in November 2022 for the third time, and today was at the official welcome at the BayArena on Thursday afternoon. The director of the U16 to U19 teams at Bayer 04 added: "With the third visit of our friends from Japan here in Leverkusen we want to continue to develop and consolidate this great partnership."

reception at airport – accomodation at the Lindner Hotel BayArena

After 15 hours in the air and a stopover in Seoul (South Korea), the delegation from the south-west of Japan landed in Frankfurt on Main on Wednesday afternoon. The six youth players and two officials received a warm welcome from the management of the youth section at Bayer 04 – including a welcome banner in Japanese.

After a communal evening meal, the first day in Leverkusen ended at the Lindner Hotel at the BayArena where the guests from Japan will stay for the coming weeks.

Tomokazu: "learn a lot about Bayer 04 and german culture"

The Japanese delegation made their first visit to the BayArena on day two: At the Bayer 04 media centre, a large number of staff from the youth section at the Werkself welcomed the guests. Thomas Eichin, director of the Performance Centre, is looking forward to the intercultural exchange: "We hope you can take a lot of interesting insights and knowledge back to Japan with you in the end."

And Ikebe Tomokazu, educational director at V-Varen Nagasaki, is very much looking forward to the time in Leverkusen : "We are very happy to be here again and to learn a lot about Bayer 04 and the German culture. Our players will do their best – not just on the pitch but also off it."

Integration in Bayer 04 youth team friendlies

While the six youth players Aoto Nanamure, Homare Ikeda, Kelshin Mlyazaki, Yuya Iwamoto, Kaihi Nishimura and Hinata Miyazaki will spend the whole time in Leverkusen, Tomokazu and U18 coach Harada Takeo will handover at the end of next week to Yusuke Maeda (Deputy youth director), Tokunaga Takahiro (U18 coach) and Matsushita Toshihiro (U12 coach).

Over the next two and a half weeks, the six Japanese youth talents and the total of five officials will receive an intensive insight in the day-to-day life of the Leverkusen youth teams. To make the first visit since 2019 special – visits were not possible since then due to the Covid-19 pandemic – the Japanese youth players will join in with the Bayer 04 youth teams in friendly fixtures.

Bayer Works, city tour and Europa League at the BayArena

A programme of events has also been arranged for the time off the pitch: A BayArena tour, a guided tour through the Bayer Works and the city tour through Leverkusen will give the visitors from Japan an insight into the local area and the BayArena.

In addition to the U 17 and U 19 games, Werkself home games are also included: The Japanese delegation will be able to experience the BayArena in matchday mode for the Family matchday against Hertha Berlin on Sunday 5 March. And the visitors from Japan will also be at the Europa League Round of 16 first leg against Ferencváros.