He is the September Bundesliga Player of the Month, is on the short list for the Golden Boy 2021 – and can now also be voted the North Rhine Westphalia Player of the Year for 2021: Werkself youngster Florian Wirtz. In addition to the 18-year-old from Leverkusen, Simon Terodde (FC Schalke 04), Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund), Simon Zoller (VfL Bochum) and Jonas Hofmann (Borussia Mönchengladbach) have also been nominated.
Athletes from North Rhine Westphalia are feted with the Felix Champions Award that, in addition to their sporting performances, also highlights their commitment, fair play and their personality. The prize is also awarded in six other categories including the best team plus the best female athlete and best male athlete. The trophies will be presented in Düsseldorf on 10 December.
The vote is open until 30 November. You can vote for Flo now HERE.
Looking forward to Wednesday's DFB Cup tie against Karlsruher SC on Wednesday, 27 October (kick-off: 18.30 CEST/stadium opens: 16.30 CEST), the Werkself player Nadiem Amiri shared his views in an interview on dfb.de. The midfielder talked about the importance of the competition as well as the unique attraction of a DFB Cup final.
Amiri has a lot of memories of KSC from his time as a youth player at SV Waldhof Mannheim and at TSG Hoffenheim: "There was always a big rivalry and they were always hard-fought games against KSC. I'm happy about the draw and the tie." The full interview is available HERE.
If there is a victory on Wednesday then the Bayer 04 player has two reasons to celebrate: The day of the second round tie is his 25th birthday.
The dates are out: The #B04eSports team open their fourth season in the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) against the Storks of Holstein Kiel. The match is on Tuesday, 9 November from 18.00 CET. Following that match at 20.00 CET there is the second encounter with the Schalke 04 team. In the last match of this year there is a virtual derby against FC Köln. The season finale against Borussia Mönchengladbach is set for 1 March.
All the matches are on Tuesdays at 18.00 and 20.00 CET. In addition, all the games involving Leverkusen eSports players will be broadcast on the club's Twitch channel.
The German Football Association (DFB) has officially recognised Bayer 04 as a centre for the development of female talent for the 2026/27 season. The club was awarded that role on 1 January 2026, and this status has now been renewed.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have sold young defender Andrea Natali to AZ Alkmaar on permanent terms. The 18-year-old Italian was on loan at the Dutch club last season, where he mainly played for the reserve team in the second division.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have loaned new signing Luca Erlein to newly promoted FC Energie Cottbus for the 2026/27 season. This will give him the opportunity to play in Bundesliga 2. The club signed the 19-year-old right-back on a permanent basis last week, on a contract to 30 June 2030.
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Trophies as a youth, appearances in the pro game and his first taste of international competition: new arrival Luca Erlein, who has been signed from TSG Hoffenheim, can already look back on some remarkable achievements and moments in his fledgling career. We take a closer look at the 19-year-old right-back, who can also fill other roles across the defensive line.
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