“I feel incredibly at home at this club. When I came to Leverkusen as a young player in 2015, I had the best conditions to develop and become the player I am today. I was able to play in Europe early on in my career with Bayer 04 and also found my way into the national team,” Tah said on extending his deal. “We always had good players, but right now I have the feeling something is developing in Leverkusen. I believe in this team, in this club and see a chance for us to achieve something extraordinary.”
Sporting director Simon Rolfes described Tah’s contract extension as “an important setting of course for a successful future. Jonathan has developed from a talented youngster into a seasoned leader with us. He doesn’t just have a role of responsibility on the pitch, but his word also carries weight off it. Jonathan is multi-talented and very reflective. He can serve as a good example to many of our young players of what it means to become a professional.”
Managing director for sport Rudi Völler considers Tah’s resilience and ambition to be special qualities of the 1.95m defender, in addition to his footballing ability. “After an extremely impressive and consistent start in the Bundesliga, Jonathan has never let isolated setbacks get him down. That’s what sets him apart. Instead, he fought all the more and faced every challenge,” Völler said. “This attitude is exemplary. Jonathan is someone who leads from the front with confidence and who absolutely identifies with Bayer 04 Leverkusen.”
Issa Traoré is moving from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Slovakian top-flight side AS Trencin. The club has loaned the centre-back out for one year to this year’s ninth-placed team in the Slovakian league.
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Assistant coach Remzi Kahraman is leaving the Bayer 04 Women’s team with immediate effect to take up a new challenge abroad. The club has agreed to the 31-year-old’s request to leave, although his contract was originally due to run until 2027. A decision on his successor will be announced shortly.
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At the U19 European Championship in Wales, the Germany U19 national team lost their third and final group match 4-0 to Spain. Several regulars, including Bayer 04 players Montrell Culbreath and Francis Onyeka (on loan to SV Elversberg), who had combined for four goals and assists in the two previous victories, did not feature,. Germany had already secured their place in the semi-finals with a game to spare.
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Two weeks into the preseason, the Bayer 04 Women have secured their first victory. Coach Roberto Pätzold’s team won their first friendly 2–0 against Bundesliga newcomers Mainz 05. In front of 160 spectators at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, the two summer signings, Maja Sternad (80’) and Justine Brandau (90’), scored for the Black and Reds.
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