Happy Birthday Mitch. The Dutchman celebrates his 22nd birthday on this Monday 20 June. The defender is currently on holiday after appearing for the Netherlands U21 team that sealed qualification for the European Championships.
Bakker joined Bayer 04 from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2020. The left-back grew up just outside Amsterdam and he joined the renowned Ajax academy at the age of ten. He played for all the youth teams before signing for PSG for the 2019/20 season. He made 30 appearances, scored one goal and provided five assists for Bayer 04 last term.
A great honour: Piero Hincapie has been nominated for the Golden Boy Award 2022. The Werkself defender is one of 22 Bundesliga players selected as candidates for the award. The Werkself number 33 joins last season’s second and third-placed players Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala from the German league. Bayer 04 new signing Adam Hlozek is also on the list.
The Italian sports journal Tuttosport has published a list of Europe’s 100 best U21 players in the middle of June since 2003. This is reduced by 20 players a month until there are 20 in the middle of October. The final assessment is made by 40 journalists from different countries.
The Ecuadorian is currently leading on 57 per cent. Black and Red supporters can vote for Hincapie HERE.
Don’t forget: The Black and Reds, in partnership with JAKO, launched a recycling campaign on Friday 17 June. Old football shirts, regardless of type, can be dropped off at the Bayer 04 fan shop in Wiesdorf up to Friday 24 June. As a thank you, all participants will receive a 25% discount voucher for the JAKO online store. Under the heading ‘Recycled Polyester’, the focus is on sustainable recycling management in textile production.
JAKO will deliver the recycled clothing to a start-up business in Aachen, which produces new textile granulate using a new recycling process and thereby creates the basis for new sportswear.
Rudi Völler was on the Bild live stream programme ‘Lage der Liga’ on Sunday morning (19 June). In a one-hour broadcast, the 62-year-old talked about a possible move by Mario Götze to Eintracht Frankfurt as well as Bayern Munich and the transfer rumours surrounding Robert Lewandowski.
The broadcast is available in full HERE.
The Bayer 04 Women have made good use of the international break. In stormy weather, the Werkself beat top-flight Dutch team NAC Breda 8-1 in a friendly on Thursday afternoon. Caroline Kehrer (5’/18’), Paulina Bartz (15’), Valentina Mädl (38’/69’/79’) and Vanessa Fudalla (53’) scored for the Leverkusen side.
Show moreWerkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-7 loss against Paris Saint-Germain on the 3rd matchday of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26...
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Six Leverkusen players will be on the road during the first international break of the current season. While one is set to play for Germany in the final round of the UEFA Women's Nations League, another could be making her debut for the Germany U19s.
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The next match in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga has been scheduled: The Werkself will play their Matchday 11 game on a Saturday afternoon. This was announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Wednesday afternoon.
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Bayer 04 welcomed former Chinese forward Chen Yang, the first player from his country to play in the Bundesliga, to the BayArena on Monday as part of a collaboration with Bundesliga International. The initiative aims to promote Bundesliga stories and behind-the-scenes content for the Chinese market ahead of the launch of Chen’s Douyin (China’s TikTok) social media channel later this month.
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