Leverkusen confirm Swiss Seoane as new coach

Berlin (dpa) – Gerardo Seoane from Swiss club Young Boys Bern will be the new coach of Bayer Leverkusen from next season, the Bundesliga club confirmed on Wednesday.

The 42-year-old has agreed a two-year deal to 2024 after agreement was reached to release Seoane from his contract, valid to 2023, in Bern, where he won three successive titles and the Swiss Cup in 2020.

Tabloid newspaper Bild reported the transfer fee could grow to around two million euros (2.4 million dollars) with possible bonus payments.

In Seoane, said Leverkusen chief Rudi Voeller, “we have signed a coach who has established Young Boys as the undisputed number on in Switzerland in the last three years.

“We are very much looking forward to the cooperation with Gerardo. He will enrich the Bundesliga.”

Seoane said Leverkusen’s “very professional and ambitious environment” was the “ideal conditions to play attractive football and mix with the top teams in the league and in Europe.”

Hannes Wolf is coach until the end of the season having replaced Peter Bosz in late March on loan from the German Football Federation (DFB), where he is under-19 national team coach, and will return to that post.

Dutchman Bosz had been in charge since January 2019 but won only four of 17 competitive games with Leverkusen in 2021 as a strong start to the season vanished.

Wolf garnered 12 points from seven games to ensure sixth place and Europa League football next season ahead of the last match of the campaign at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.