It was the big shock in the week of the cup final: Paulinho injured the cruciate in his right knee in training on Tuesday, 2 July. The outcome: several months on the sidelines. Paulinho's teammates sent a video get-well message from the BayArena to Innsbruck where the 19-year-old underwent a successful operation. The winger has been back in Leverkusen since Tuesday and has today started his rehab programme at the Werkstatt facility.
This incident is now part of German football folklore: In the 85th minute of the 1990 World Cup final against Argentina, Andreas Brehme stepped up to take a penalty with the score at 0-0. Today is the 30th anniversary of the final. Sport-Bild took this opportunity to invite Franz Beckenbauer, Lothar Matthäus and goalscorer Brehme to an interview. And the latter spoke about the seconds before the penalty, which he hit into the same corner of the net as he did against England in the semi-final.
The now 59-year-old was asked whether that was taking a risk. "The biggest risk was Rudi Völler coming up to me before I took the kick and saying: 'Andi, if you score, we'll win the World Cup.' I just thought: Thanks a lot for making that clear," answered Brehme, who famously refused to be put off by the words of wisdom from today's Leverkusen sporting managing director. And so Völler, Brehme and Co. ended up celebrating winning the World Cup. Bayer 04 congratulate Rudi Völler and Co. on this anniversary.
The football portal transfermarkt.de has issued the first market value update in a top league since the coronavirus pandemic and adjusted numerous market values in the Bundesliga. This includes Bayer 04 youngster Florian Wirtz having his initial value rated at €10 million. The 17-year-old is thereby the third most valuable player born in 2003 worldwide. And the Werkself players Moussa Diaby (+5 to €32 million) and Edmond Tapsoba (+4 to €22 million) have increased in value.
The former Leverkusen player Heung-Min Son presented himself with a present two days before his birthday with Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs gained valuable points in the race for a Europa League spot with a 1-0 win against Everton on Monday night. The South Korea international, who played for Bayer 04 from 2013 to 2015, is 28 today (Wednesday).
Diaby celebrated his 21st birthday yesterday. The Frenchman joined the Werkself on Paris St Germain in the summer and he has scored five goals and provided five assists in 28 Bundesliga appearances. Bayer 04 wish the two wingers many happy returns (belatedly)!
After a flawless tournament with only victories in the group and knockout stages, Argentina narrowly missed out on the title at the U20 World Cup in Chile. In the final on Monday night, Bayer 04 player Alejo Sarco and his fellow countrymen lost 2-0 to Morocco. Both goals were scored in the first half of the match played in Santiago de Chile. Sarco played for the first 60 minutes.
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The Werkself suffered their second defeat in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga with two players sent off. Roberto Pätzold's team lost 5-1 at home to VfL Wolfsburg at the end of Matchday 7. Goalkeeper Charlotte Voll saw red in the first minute for a professional foul and Lilla Turanyi was also sent off on 51 minutes. Claudia Wenger scored the only goal for the Black and Reds (46'). With 13 points from seven games, Leverkusen are now fifth in the table, three points behind the Wolves.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without the services of Malik Tillman for the time being. The 23-year-old suffered a thigh injury training with the USA national team during the international break. This was outcome of a medical in Leverkusen. Tillman is expected to be out for around two weeks.
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Bayer 04 player Carlotta Wamser is among the five candidates in the vote for NRW Professional Footballer of the Year 2025. Fans can vote online up to 9 November. In addition to the Germany international, Florian Wirtz is also one of the five nominees. The awards ceremony will take place in Düsseldorf on 28 November.
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