"You've got the mic on, haven't you? Have you got the mic on," goalkeeping coach David Thiel wanted to know. And it didn't take long for Gerardo Seoane to answer: "Yes, of course I've got the mic on!"
MIKED UP: The 43-year-old Swiss coach willingly took part in this special experiment for the duration of the game – and he involved the Werkself fans on the touchline. Tactical advice, chatting with his fellow coaches, praise for the opponents and live commentary of action on the pitch: Seoane kept the viewers in the loop. Exclusive insights into the role of a coach at a charity match. Always committed but also with a good portion of humour.
This all happened as part of last week's charity match. The Werkself played a City of Leverkusen side in front of 2,100 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. 33 amateur players from 12 clubs were able to play in the game of their lives against Nadiem Amiri, Kerem Demirbay and Co. The city team even scored a much celebrated consolation goal in the 8-1 defeat.
The most important thing on the night was the donations raised for clubs and social groups badly affected by the floods in July 2021: An impressive €100,000 was raised. The total sum consisted of takings from the charity match as well as the fan flea market at the BayArena at the beginning of October. In addition, Bayer 04 along with main sponsors Barmenia and Premium Partner Tipwin raised the funds to the aforementioned round number.
The Bayer 04 managing directors Fernando Carro and Rudi Völler presented the cheque during the first break to the Leverkusen Community Foundation. CEO Manuel Bast echoed his thanks and was visibly moved: "It's overwhelming to see what Bayer 04, the fans and everybody involved have achieved here. The money donated will help enormously in easing the suffering of the people affected."
A round-up of the evening is available HERE.
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Due to the last-minute postponement of the Bundesliga match between Hamburg and the Werkself on Tuesday, 13 January, Bayer 04 will reimburse the ticket price to all 3,500 fans who had already travelled to Hamburg as a sign of appreciation. The tickets remain valid for the rescheduled match (date not yet set).
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without centre-back Edmond Tapsoba in the coming weeks. The Burkina Faso international returned to the Werkself from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with a muscle injury.
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The Bundesliga fixture between Hamburger SV and Bayer 04 Leverkusen has been postponed at short notice.
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Bayer 04 face Hamburger SV for the first time in almost eight years. Although the Hanseatic city team are often below par on the road, they are regularly in top form in front of their own fans. In particular, 18-year-old shooting star Luka Vuskovic is proving to be a real bonus for Merlin Polzin's team, both in attack and defence. However, that should not scare the Werkself: Not only was the last defeat against the newly promoted team 17 games ago, but Kasper Hjulmand's players are in with a chance of securing their fifth win in six games against HSV. Today’s matchday news.
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