Meinolf Sprink, director of fans/community, summed up a successful day: "Everybody really got stuck in together and it was great to see how people worked and laughed with each other. The project for us is above all an expression of our bond with Leverkusen. We want to be a good neighbour and the Wir(04)Helfen Day is part of that philosophy."
A total of 70 employees of Bayer 04 GmbH worked hard from early morning at twelve locations on site to clean up the gardens as well as a new state-of-the-art outdoor gym with a number of pieces of training equipment, and finally smarten everything up in black and red. Particularly practical: The fitness park is right next to the Schlebuschrath cycle path on a direct route to the BayArena and it is used by many fans to get to the ground on matchdays. In addition, Stefan Kießling and Co. planted 25 new trees and help renovate a playground.
The Werkself and coaching staff joined in during the afternoon. Head coach Gerardo Seoane was full of enthusiasm: "A great event to support the club’s community project. We were happy to get stuck in with the other helpers and load wheelbarrows with sand. It does the players good to see the world from a different perspective." The Bayer 04 Women’s team also swapped footballs for trowels and spades. Today's duties for defender Melissa Friedrich, who also works in logistics at the club, included decking out a large number of benches in black and red: "For me, it's the sixth time I've taken part. I think it's important to get to know and work hand-in-hand with other people from the club on days like this. Above all, you get to learn to value completely different physical work than you do sitting in the office or being on the training ground."
The project is supported by the Lebenshilfe e.V. Leverkusen charity organisation. Also involved in staging the project is the sponsor Coca-Cola who made a five figure contribution and also worked hard on the site with their own delegation. "We are totally happy being able to actively support the subject of sustainability with such joint projects," said Claudia Blanars, sports marketing and prestige accounts manager at Coca-Cola.
In the first year in 2015, and also in 2016, the Wir(04)Helfen Day was held in a Leverkusen nursery. In the summer of 2017 the Opladen practice driving course was knocked into shape, players and staff worked at the Reuschenberg wildlife park in 2018. And in 2019 it was the Neuland Park that benefited. An outdoor park has recently been set up there too and it has already been very well received by the people of Leverkusen.
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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