The two oldest Bayer 04 youth teams began the new NRW League Cup with convincing wins. The U19s under head coach Sven Hübscher entertained Alemannia Aachen in the opening fixture in Group 3 – and they secured a convincing 5-0 victory. The goalscorers included three youth players who took part in the first team training camp in Salzburger Land a few weeks ago.
The first goal of the new season was netted by Joshua Eze just before half-time at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre (36'). At the start of the second 45, Ayman Aourir made it 2-0 (46') before Zidan Sertdemir took centre stage. The 16-year-old summer signing from top-flight Danish club FC Nordsjaelland, who has completed every training session with the first team, netted a hat-trick in eleven minutes (53', 60', 64').
The U19s are back in action in the NRW League Cup on Friday, 13 August, with a home game against Preußen Münster. The kick-off at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium is at 18.30 CEST.
Like the older youth age group, the Leverkusen U17s are top of Group 2 after matchday one. Thanks to a 4-0 home win against Alemannia Aachen, the team coached by Jan Hoepner and Thomas Zdebel have taken the first step towards the semi-finals. The goals for the Werkself youth side were scored by Akim Kister (28’), Raoul Petak (37’), Enes Yilmaz (56’) and Julius Bugenhagen (75’).
Preußen Münster are also the next opponents for the U17s. The second group match is away from home on Thursday, 12 August at 13.00 CEST.
Following the focused performance in the DFB Cup tie at Lokomotive Leipzig (3-0), the Werkself began the new week with a day off training. The first session is set for Tuesday with the focus moving exclusively to the Bundesliga opener away to FC Union Berlin. Bayer 04 will travel to the capital on Friday in search of the first three points of the new league campaign the day after with a 15.30 CEST kick-off at the Alte Försterei Stadium.
As announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Monday, the second round of the DFB Cup will be drawn on Sunday, 29 August. The draw will begin at 18.30 CEST in the WDR studio in Cologne where the ARD Sportschau is broadcast live. The second round matches will be played on 26 and 27 October.
Bayer 04 went through in the cup competition with a comfortable 3-0 victory away to North East Regional League Lokomotive Leipzig. The match report can be read HERE.
The Werkself player Jeremie Frimpong describes his FIFA Ultimate Team as "quick" and "powerful". Bayer 04 TV asked the 20-year-old right-back to introduce his dream team on FIFA. The players he chose can be seen on the club’s YouTube channel. HERE is the link to the video.
The week starts again with Black and Red congratulations: Panagiotis ‘Panos’ Retsos celebrated his 23rd birthday on Monday. The defender joined Leverkusen in 2017 from Olympiakos as a champion of Greece. After going out on loan to Saint-Étienne last year, the South African-born Retsos is again showing his potential under the Bayer Cross. After time on the pitch in the pre-season friendlies, the versatile defender went the full distance in the DFB Cup tie against Lokomotive Leipzig. Many happy returns on your birthday, Panos.
Another player, who wore the Black and Red until recently, became a year old on Monday and is now 24: Leon Bailey. The Jamaican joined Bayer 04 in January 2017. A few days ago, the winger moved on to the Premier League after four and a half years in the Bundesliga – he is now at Aston Villa. Many happy returns and much success, Leon.
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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