With the Bundesliga's winter break in full, all of its teams need to keep their rhythm for the second half of the season. With that in mind, Bayer Leverkusen will play the Florida Cup against a series of interesting teams. The first match of the tournament for Die Werkself will be quite challenging, as Chicharito & Co. face the current Copa Sudamericana champions: Independiente Santa Fe.
Bayer Leverkusen's options of winning this friendly game will depend mostly on what Javier "Chicharito" Hernández can do. The Mexican striker showed impressive form during the second half of 2015, scoring 19 goals in 22 matches, including his first professional hat-trick. After developing a partnership with fellow striker Stefan Kiessling and midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, the Mexican will try to break his personal records and help The Aspirins to a top-four finish, which would hand them a spot in next year's UEFA Champions League.
Hernández's skills have proven to be quite useful for Roger Schmidt's crew, as the Mexican leads the team with 19 goals scored in all competitions in hi maiden season with The Aspirins.
.jpg?q=75&w=634)
On the other side of the pitch, "The first Colombian champion" will try to make things hard for the heavily favoured Werkself. Coach Gerardo Pellusso will try to demonstrate why his men became the 7th team in the world, as the IFFHS revealed a couple of weeks ago. After their historical 2015 Copa Sudamericana title -the first ever for this team-, "El Expreso Rojo" will try to work around the German side using the experience and skills of players such as Yulian Anchico, Carlos Valdéz and Venezuelan ace Luis Manuel Seijas.
According to the IFFHS, "Los Cardenales" were the highest-ranked Latin American team in the year, surpassing Copa Libertadores champion River Plate.
Where to watch Bayer Leverkusen vs Independiente Santa Fe on TV or online?
Fans in the U.S. will be able to watch this game via WATCH ESPN, ESPN3 USA and ESPN Deportes TV at 17:00 EST. All those football fans living in Colombia can tune in on Fox Sports Cono Sur and FOX Play Latin America at 17:00 COT. Finally, Chicharito's fans in Mexico wil be allowed to watch their compatriot's performance on FOX Play Latin America and Fox Sports Cono Sur at 16:00 CST.
Live elsewhere? Check out the Bayer Leverkusen vs Independiente Santa Fe match page.
*Please consider that all live streaming & TV schedules are subject to change.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
Bayer Leverkusen 1 - 0 Santa Fe
January 10, 2016 5:00pmESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Field 17 (Orlando, Florida)This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
