"It's been a long time for us without football," said U19 coach Sven Hübscher following the 75-minute first session of the New Year. "It's great to be back on the pitch."
The 42-year-old coach welcomed a new member of his coaching staff on Friday: The Spaniard Erik Roqueta, most recently head of the fitness section at Mexican top-flight side Chivas de Guadalajara, took charge of the running part of the opening session as the new fitness coach. Hübscher: "It's important for us to be able to bring in a man like Erik for the fitness area. The lads will be able to take a huge step forwards."
The first U19 training session was also attended by Bayer 04 sporting director Simon Rolfes and Thomas Eichin (head of the Performance Centre). In addition, Werkself head coach Gerardo Seoane with his assistants Patrick Schnarwiler and Alberto Encinas also looked in after the final pre-match training session for the first team.
The next session for the eldest youth group at the Werkself is tomorrow (Saturday). "The first two days are for the lads to get used to the ball and the pitch again after a four-week break," explained Hübscher. After a day off on Sunday, "it will really get going again from Monday."
The first friendly for the U19s is on Saturday, 15 January, against the SC Fortuna Köln U23 team. The match against the Middle Rhine League side at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre kicks off at 11.00 CET. The first match in the U19 Bundesliga West is away to Borussia Dortmund on the first weekend in February.
After a goalless and at times evenly-matched first half, Bayer 04's U19s ultimately suffered a heavy defeat at Manchester City. Coach Kevin Brok's depleted side - including five players who were part of the senior squad for the Champions League game in the evening - lost 6-0 on Matchday 5 of the UEFA Youth League.
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The Werkself face Manchester City for the very first time on Tuesday for Matchday 5 of the league phase in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League (kick-off: 21:00 CET). The hosts sit fourth in the standings and boast huge quality in attack, while Leverkusen are looking to improve their meagre record of just one win from the last 10 games away at English clubs. A key player in that regard could be Aleix Garcia, the former City midfielder who ranks highly in several passing metrics in the Champions League this season. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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The Werkself's next European trip takes them to the north-west of England as Kasper Hjulmand's side take on Manchester City on Tuesday, 25 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET) on Matchday 5 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. As usual, we'll take you along on the #aCROSSeurope journey and report from Manchester. All times listed are in CET.
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The annual Black and Red Week has started. Day one, Tuesday 25 November, includes a special ticket offer for Bayer 04 Club members and a special jersey offer for all Werkself fans...
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