FC Porto are currently on an eleven-day training camp at the Kamen-Kaiserau Sports Centre near Dortmund. Their squad includes internationally famous players like Iker Casillas, Hector Herrera and Ruben Neves. FC Porto have regularly played European football for years. They lifted the European Cup in 1987 and the Champions League in 2004 plus the UEFA Cup and the Europa League (2003, 2011). Porto have won the Portuguese league 31 times and 16 domestic cup competitions.
The team us managed by Nuno Santo. The young Portuguese coach is successor to Julen Lopetegui who is moving to manage the Spanish national team. Under Lopetegui FC Porto finished third in the league behind Benfica and Sporting Lisbon last term putting them in the play-offs for the Champions League.
Bayer 04 are familiar with that scenario from the previous two Champions League campaigns. This year is a different story with pre-season building up to competitive matches in the DFB Cup and then the Bundesliga. This fifth friendly may give fans the opportunity to see Tin Jedvaj, Admir Mehmedi and Charles Aránguiz plus U19 European Championship players Lukas Boeder and Benny Henrichs in action. All five returned to training this week.
Advice to fans
Hosts SV Bergisch Gladbach 09 have announced that nationwide stadium bans apply to Wednesday night's match against FC Porto at the Belkaw Arena.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have given U17 player Francis Onyeka a long-term contact. The club has agreed a deal with the 16-year-old to 30 June 2027.
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#B04eSports team suffered the first defeat of the season on matchday five in the VBL Club Championship 2023/24. Last night’s other games ended in a win and a draw. The Black and Reds are now fifth in the North West division.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen back continuity at the top of the club. The Bundesliga and Europa League participants have extended the contract with sporting managing director Simon Rolfes to 2028. The former midfielder and long-standing Werkself captain took over this position as the successor to Rudi Völler in the summer of 2022. He was previously the sporting director at Bayer 04 for three and a half years.
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The fans have decided: The goal scored by Florian Wirtz to make it 1-0 for Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the 2-1 home win against SC Freiburg was voted Goal of the Month for October with 45 % of the votes cast. The 20-year-old Werkself player won the vote conducted by ARD-Sportschau by a clear margin ahead of second-placed Harry Kane (Bayern Munich).
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BK Häcken have yet to gain a point in Group H. The club from Gothenburg entertain the Werkself on Thursday 30 November (kick-off: 21.00 CET). Häcken will be looking to improve their record in the last European home game of the year against the group leaders.
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