After the 16-year-old Iker Bravo made his first senior appearance in the DFB Cup game against Karlsruher SC (1-2), the young Spanish striker made his Bundesliga debut on Sunday, 7 November in the match at Hertha Berlin (1-1). Bravo was, for a few minutes, the youngest Bundesliga player in the history of Bayer 04 – until Zidan Sertdemir came on from the bench. Now comes the next highlight for the top talent who joined Leverkusen from Barcelona in the summer: His goal from an overhead kick in the U19 match against Fortuna Düsseldorf has been nominated for the October Goal of the Month on the ARD Sportschau.
The Spaniard scored his first two goals for Bayer 04 in that match at the end of October. And his second goal on 75 minutes was a real beauty: With the score at 1-1, he did an overhead kick to put the ball in the back of the net and turn the game round in favour of the Black and Reds (final score 3-1). You can see his remarkable feat again HERE. Bayer 04 fans can vote for Bravo's outstanding strike now online at sportschau.de or by calling 01371/36900 (€0.14 /call from German landline).
Also nominated are Breel Embolo (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Katharina Naschenweng (TSG Hoffenheim), David Blacha (SV Meppen) and Sebastian Klaas (VfL Osnabrück). The vote closes on 27 November at 19.00 CET.
Another important step in the professionalisation of women's football: The streaming platform ata football has acquired the rights for the current and coming 2022/23 season to show a large number of games from the FLYERALARM Women's Bundesliga.
Selected matches from the FFBL will be shown in their entirety on atafootball.com and on nbcsport.com. Matches will also be shown in full after games have ended and there will also be highlights.
Prick up your ears: Radio Leverkusen will report on the Werkself charity match against a City of Leverkusen team in their morning show tomorrow (Tuesday) morning from 6 a.m. that will include an interview with Bayer 04 honorary captain Stefan Kießling and a Werkself fan who was involved in the clear-up work in Leverkusen and surroundings following the terrible floods in July.
The Bayer 04 first team are playing at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Wednesday, 10 November from 18.30 CET to provide support for the victims of the flood disaster. All profits from the event will go to the Leverkusen Community Foundation. Tickets are available at the Bayer 04 online shop for five euros.
The Golden Boy Top 100 traditionally lists Europe’s most promising young players. In the latest update, published to mark the start of the new season, four current Werkself players – alongside loanee Francis Onyeka – feature on the list. This means Bayer 04 have the most players in contention of any Bundesliga club.
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Goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe will continue to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen next season. The loan of the Germany U23 international, who joined from Liverpool in the winter, has been extended by a further year.
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The Bayer 04 delegation, led by Fernando Carro, CEO, concluded their multi-day trip to Brazil with a visit to the community-based organisation Bola Pra Frente in Rio de Janeiro – founded by former Werkself player Jorginho. During the visit, Bayer 04 committed to extending support for the Bola Pra Frente project for a further five years. In addition, Jorginho, a member of the Brazil 1994 World Cup-winning squad, was named Bayer 04’s second official club legend. With the visit to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the club has strengthened the relationships built up over the years in one of Bayer 04’s most important international markets.
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Ten years after retiring as a player, Kristina Sundov is returning to the Bayer 04 Women’s team as assistant coach. The 39-year-old former Croatia international takes over from Remzi Kahraman, who has taken up a new challenge abroad. She has been given a contract to 30 June 2028.
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The training pitches at the BayArena are already buzzing with activity again, even before training officially begins next week. On Monday morning, a small group from the Werkself first-team squad completed a session lasting around an hour. Both new and familiar faces were present.
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