From London to Leverkusen: Callum Hudson-Odoi leaves his birthplace for the first time in his career as a football player to join Bayer 04. He joined Chelsea at the age of six and his Ghanaian father Bismark Odoi was also a professional footballer in Ghana. Callum progressed through all the youth teams at the Blues over the following eleven years. He made his debut for the U18s at the age of 15, the U23s at 16, and he finally stepped up to the senior squad in 2017.
The fast and technically gifted Hudson-Odoi made his Premier League debut on 31 January 2018 under the then Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte in a 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth. He made one more league appearance in his first season.
The right footer went on to play more frequently in England's top flight in the following years. He played nine games in the UEFA Europa League in 2018/19 and joined his teammates in celebrating winning the title after a 4-1 victory against Arsenal in the final. Hudson-Odoi played a significant role in Chelsea's European triumph with four goals and two assists.
The Londoner celebrated the biggest success of his short career to date in the following year by winning the UEFA Champions League. The winger played an important role in the 2020/21 Champions League campaign with two goals in seven games and, after beating Manchester City 1-0 in the final, he lifted the trophy together with Werkself home-grown player, scorer of the winner in the final, and teammate Kai Havertz. Callum also won the FIFA Club World Cup with the Blues.
Hudson-Odoi has learned one thing in particular in his time at Chelsea as he explained in an interview with fifa.com: "The mentality was for us to score goals or always look to finish. Team spirit was and is really important for that. You never play alone and success is only possible as a team."
At the age of 21, Hudson-Odoi can already look back at 72 appearances in the Premier League, 17 in the Champions League as well as nine in the Europa League.
Bayer 04 host VfB Stuttgart at the BayArena on matchday 8 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The game will be played on Halloween on Saturday, 31 October with the a 15:30 CET kick-off. The latest information on ticket sales.
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Bayer 04 host SC Paderborn at the BayArena on matchday 10 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The game against the newly promoted team is on Saturday, 21 November with the a 15:30 CET kick-off. The latest information on ticket sales.
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“School education: a key to success in a sporting career?” – this and other questions relating to dual training in sport, particularly in football, took centre stage at the EDU-DC Conference at the BayArena. The event, held in the Premium Lounge, brought together experts from top clubs and associations from 24 nations, including England, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. Representatives from Bayer 04 and TSV Bayer 04 provided insights into the interplay between school and sport at the Werkself.
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Decision made: Germany will submit a bid to the IOC (International Olympic Committee) to host the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Munich. The representatives of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) voted for Munich over Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr at their extraordinary meeting in Baden-Baden on Saturday 26 September. Berlin had already withdrawn from the vote a few days earlier.
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