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“After a good pre-season we unfortunately lacked certain things against Elversberg,” Martínez stated clearly at Friday’s press conference. The 42-year-old continued, “We want to do things differently against Union Berlin, play with passion, mentality and win. A season is always a learning process, and we were able to take a lot from the first game. I’m very happy with training this week. Now we want and have to show our ideas on the pitch tomorrow, as well as face up to the fight from a mentally strong and disciplined opponent.”
Moussa Diaby was a subject for the media following his return to the club. Martínez confirmed that the winger had “trained very well, is ready and fit, even if the past few weeks were maybe a bit unusual for him. He brings something special in our game with his speed and super left foot. He’s also got a very good connection to lots of players and members of staff. We’re pleased he’s here.”
The same goes for Guéla Doué following his switch from Strasbourg, but Martínez explained that the right-back still needs to heal “something minor”, meaning he won’t be in the squad against Union. “But it should be sorted by next week,” the Spaniard added.
Attacking trio Nathan Tella, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Martin Terrier are also nearing returns. “For Eliesse and Martin, we’ll decide tomorrow. It’s still up in the air. Nathan also isn’t far away, even if he won’t quite make it in time for tomorrow,” Martínez confirmed.
The coach was also asked about the 23-man squad list that the Werkself have submitted for the UEFA Europa League. “These decisions are some of the toughest for a coach. The number of permitted players is limited. That’s the rule. And it's completely understandable and perfectly normal that you can't please everyone in the process. At the end of the day, we’re competing in three competitions and will try to make the best possible decisions – not for individual players or myself but for the benefit of the team and the club,” Martínez explained.
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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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Bayer 04 will have to manage without striker Christian Kofane in the coming weeks. The 20-year-old sustained a muscle injury to his left thigh on international duty with the Cameroon national team during the recent international break. This will prevent him from playing in the upcoming Werkself matches.
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FSV Mainz 05 went into the international break on the back of an away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Currently sixth in the table, the Rheinhessen side – who have been impressive on the road – now aim to continue their good start to the Bundesliga campaign at home when they face the Werkself on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). In terms of squad selection, Urs Fischer once again has more options at his disposal. Up front, the Mainz coach is likely to continue relying on what is currently the league’s most successful strike partnership. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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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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Fans ask, Carolin Simon answers: As part of Bayer 04’s second Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, the Leverkusen captain took questions from the community. The full-back, who returned to the club this summer after ten years away, set aside an hour and a half for the Q&A session with fans, offering a very personal insight into, amongst other things, her daily life as a footballer and her role as captain, as well as her passion for Pokémon.
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