
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.

Centre-back Melissa Friedrich is set to remain at Bayer 04 for another year. The longest-serving player in the squad, who joined the club in 2016, has extended her contract to 2027.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Portugal U21 international Afonso Moreira. The 21-year-old winger joins the club from French top-flight side Olympique Lyon on a contract to 30 June 2031. In France last year, the left-winger made 37 appearances in Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the UEFA Europa League, scoring a total of eight goals and providing eleven assists.
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A warm welcome to Leverkusen, Afonso Moreira! Bayer 04 have signed the 21-year-old Portuguese player from the top-flight French club Lyon. The left-winger has signed a contract at Leverkusen to 30 June 2031. Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the new signing.
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From his arrival at the airport, the medical and contract signing, right through to photo shoots, his very own trading card and his first interview at the BayArena: Werkself TV followed new signing Afonso Moreira up close on his first day in Leverkusen. In the interview, the 21-year-old Portuguese left-winger, who has joined the Werkself from Lyon, talks about his excitement ahead of joining Bayer 04 and the Bundesliga, as well as his conversation with head coach Carles Martínez. Moreira also reveals the secret behind his iconic goal celebration – which he intends to perform “as often as possible” at the BayArena next season...
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