Bundesliga club to hold pre-season in Brazil, friendly match planned
Bayer Leverkusen announced on Friday (6) that it will come to Brazil to carry out part of its pre-season in Rio de Janeiro.
Champion of the Bundesliga in the 2023/24 season, the club revealed that it plans to play a friendly match during its passage through the country between July 14 and 24.
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The club has not yet pointed out who the match will be against, but said in a statement that it will have a "top-level opponent".
Other information such as the location and date of the friendly match have also not been disclosed.
During its stay in Rio de Janeiro, Leverkusen will train at Ninho do Urubu, Flamengo's training center,
For Flamengo, this visit is a great opportunity to bring together two global brands, rubro-negras, that play modern and engaging football
Luiz Eduardo Baptista, president of Flamengo
This preparation phase in Brazil will be the highlight of our various initiatives in the Brazilian market, being a unique project in the Bundesliga
Fernando Carro, CEO of Bayer Leverkusen
This will be the first time a Bundesliga team will hold its pre-season in South America.
Former Brazilian players who wore the Leverkusen jersey will also participate in activities during the team's passage through Rio de Janeiro.
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Since 1987, more than 20 Brazilians have worn the club's jersey, including Paulo Sérgio, Emerson, Lúcio, Jorginho, Zé Roberto, Wendell, Juan, and Renato Augusto.
Currently, full-back Arthur is the only athlete born in Brazil who is part of Leverkusen's squad.
Leverkusen will be the second Bundesliga team to pass through Brazil in 2025.
In late May, Leipzig came to the country shortly after the end of the season.
The delegation passed through the state of São Paulo, where it carried out activities with the press and the local community, in addition to playing a friendly match against Santos.
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The German club took advantage of the structure of Red Bull Bragantino, since the two clubs are managed by the same company.
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