Thousands of cities and millions of people are taking part in the Earth Hour climate protection campaign organised by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) in 2021. Bayer 04 are once again joining in on Saturday 27 March under the motto: Switch that light out! The BayArena will be in darkness from 20.30 to 21.30 CET as will the Ostermann Arena, the Water Tower and the Town Hall Gallery, to take a joint stand for climate and environmental protection.
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a call to avoid people gathering at the named landmarks. People can take part in the campaign from home by switching off the lights in their own four walls at the appointed hour.
The campaign started on 31 March 2007 in Sydney. It is now the biggest climate and environmental protection campaign event in the world.
Top match time at the Ulrich Stadium. The Bayer 04 Women host Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday night, 26 March. This will be a meeting of the teams fifth and seventh on matchday 16 in the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga. The Werkself Women will be looking to at least maintain their eight-point lead over Frankfurt. Eurosport will broadcast the match live from Leverkusen with the kick-off at 19.15 CET.
Born in Ghana, Hans Sarpei grew up in Cologne from the age of two. He played for a number of clubs in Cologne in his youth and he finally made the step-up to professional football at the end of the 1990s at Fortuna Köln. Via MSV Duisburg and VfL Wolfsburg the left-back returned to the Rhineland in the summer of 2007 – under the Bayer Cross to be exact. Sarpei spent three years at the Werkself, making 42 Bundesliga appearances for the Black and Reds.
At the end of his playing career in 2012, the former Leverkusen player moved into the TV business with his own coaching broadcast on SPORT1 and he won one series of the dance show ‘Let’s Dance’. The 44-year-old has started a new project and is now a book author. Sarpei has written a cookbook with the title ‘Hans Sarpei’s Football Cuisine’. This is aimed at ambitious youth footballers. Sarpei says: “We want to show the connection between nutrition and performance.”
There are a few birthday greetings on this Friday: Schahriar Bigdeli, Werkself fitness coach, is 41. The four-time German champion in long jump started working for Bayer 04 in 2006 and he works closely with the head coach and his staff in looking after the fitness levels of the Werkself players.
Another birthday boy works for the Werkself: Falko Götz, who was a key player for Bayer 04 in the 1980s and a UEFA Cup winner in 1988 with the Black and Reds, is now part of the sporting management. Götz is 59 on this Friday.
The third in the group is Mike Rietpietsch, now 47 years old. Born in Eberswalde, the midfielder joined the Werkself from Union Berlin at the age of 20 in 1994. He stayed for three seasons and played 22 Bundesliga games during that time. His career took him to Fortuna Düsseldorf, VfL Bochum and Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. Bayer 04 wish the trio: Many happy returns!
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed Kerim Alajbegovic’s transfer to Italian record champions Juventus. The club brought the 18-year-old attacking player back to Leverkusen this summer via a buy-back option, following a season at Red Bull Salzburg. Until his move to Austria, the Bosnia international had been playing for Bayer 04’s Under-19s.
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With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of the 3-0 victory in the friendly match against Rot-Weiss Essen...
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without Kennet Eichhorn for the time being. Following specialist medical examinations, the new signing from Berlin has been diagnosed with a metabolic disorder requiring treatment. This was preceded by excessive physical strain and weight loss, partly as a result of a gastrointestinal condition.
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A successful fourth preseason friendly ahead of the start of the training camp: The Werkself secured a 3-0 victory over Rot-Weiss Essen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The goals in what was a commanding and dominant performance by Leverkusen from the outset were scored by Ibrahim Maza (8'), Patrik Schick from the penalty spot (23’) and, in the second half, Montrell Culbreath with a header (79’). The team set off for their training camp in Blankenhain in the Weimarer Land region after the game.
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