Jonathan Tah, how are you? Have you had a chance to take a holiday since your groin injury or did you start rehab at Leverkusen straightaway?
Tah: I'm doing really well and the rehab's going well too. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take a holiday due to the injury but I'll make up for that soon. I'm looking forward to it already.
When will you be fit again? Are you looking forward to the pre-season with the Werkself?
Tah: Yes, I'm very much looking forward to being back on the pitch very soon. I'll start training again after my holiday. But first of all I'll have to start working on my own. We’ll gradually increase the workload. I hope to be able to be back in full training two to three weeks after the start of the pre-season.
You recently posted that you are very happy that Stefan Kießling is staying for another season. How important is he to the Werkself and how do you get on with each other?
Tah: I get on really well with Stefan Kießling. When I came to Leverkusen he did a lot for me and helped me settle in. He's a great bloke. And he’s enormously important for us on the pitch. He can score crucial goals at any time. And everybody knows how valuable he is for Leverkusen as a whole.
You spoke to Heiko Herrlich last week. What's your first impression of the new head coach?
Tah: Heiko Herrlich really impressed me. I'm very excited that he’s got started and I’m looking forward to working with him. My first conversation with him was also good because it included talking about when I'm going on holiday. :)
The 04 fan questions - Thank you for taking part!
@SethRollinsLEV (via Twitter): How do you see the chances for Germany in the Confederations Cup and the U 21 European Championships?
Tah: Both teams have very good squads and are capable of winning. Of course, they do have some very strong opponents. Above all in the Confed Cup, the other teams have their top players with them while Germany are missing some of the top stars. However, Germany will still want to win.
@jannisvlm (via Twitter): Which stadium would you like to play in where you've never played before?
Tah: It would be the Santiago Bernabeu. I've been there when there was no game on. I would like to have the chance to play there – and hopefully win.
Ricardo Gianlucca (via Facebook): Besides yourself, who do you think is the best central defender in the world?
Tah: For me it's Sergio Ramos at the moment. He's had an outstanding season and he made a solid contribution to taking Real Madrid to where they are.
Vanessa Arntzen (via Facebook): What does #dieuestaucontrole mean to you?
Tah: Literally translated it means "God is in control". That means God controls everything. That's what I believe and it gives me a lot of strength in difficult situations like now. And even when things are going well my faith provides support.
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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