The era of Pavel Nedved, Milan Baros, Tomas Rosicky and Petr Cech in the Czech Republic team is long gone. And the great international successes such as European Championship runners-up in 1996 against Germany or the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 are also in the past. There has been a change of generations over recent years in the 'Reprezentace' (The Team). Werkself striker Patrik Schick is happy with the direction the team is taking: "When those players stopped playing for the national team, the lads were not yet ready for the task at hand. They just weren't experienced enough. But after four years of working together each and everyone has developed. Now we've got good quality in the team," the 25-year-old explained.
The Czechs will have to be on top of their game in every match as, after the opening match against Scotland, the Czech Republic face two genuine heavyweights in World Cup runners-up Croatia and World Cup semi-finalists England. However, Schick believes in his team's own abilities: "Of course, we’re in a difficult group but we played England in the qualifiers and beat them 2-1. So we have the experience of overcoming a strong team within top players."
The Prague-born striker is positive about the organisation and team spirit in the Czech Republic side. He believes it's very difficult to break down the Silhavy team due to the "many workers on the pitch." Schick is looking to help out the team with the abilities that make him stand out: "I want to score as many goals as possible to support the team on the pitch. Of course, I'd like to go through this difficult group with my team. If we do that then we'll all be happy," Schick declared with ambition.
With all the anticipation for the international tournament, the whole thing is a bit of a downer for Patrik Schick. A European Championship away from the times of the pandemic would probably have been better for the supporters of the 'Reprezentace' in terms of following their team across Europe. "I wish it were possible for every spectator to come to Euro 2020. Even if it would be 90% English and only 10% Czechs in the stadium, I would have been very happy with that. We play for the people, the fans," the striker said with regret. Nevertheless, Schick wants to be able to help fans celebrate at home in front of the TV...
HERE is the Euro 2020 interview with Aleksandar Dragovic.
HERE is the Euro 2020 interview with Lukas Hradecky.
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…
Show moreTo all Bayer 04 fans: The Fanwelt will be closed all day next Monday 30 June. This is due to preparations for the change of kit supplier from Castore to New Balance on Tuesday 1 July.
Show moreThe Norway U23 international Julie Jorde has completed the move from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Brøndby IF. The twelve-time champions of Denmark have signed the midfielder on permanent terms after her loan move from the Bundesliga to Denmark in the winter.
Show moreIt is almost two years since Bayer 04 new signing Abdoulaye Faye first stepped foot into the BayArena as a player for the Swedish club BK Häcken in the opening match in the 2023/24 Europa League campaign. A day before his nineteenth birthday, the central defender did not play in the 4-0 win for the Werkself but it was "an incredible night" for him on 21 September 2023 as he explained in his first interview on bayer04.de. "I watched the players and saw the fans. I liked it." It was also the first European night early on in his career. He only joined the then champions of Sweden in the cold north of Europe from his home in Senegal a few weeks before that special moment. Bayer04.de profiles our new defender.
Show moreWelcome, Abdoulaye Faye. The 20-year-old Senegalese central defender joins Leverkusen from top-flight Swedish club BK Häcken. In his first interview he talks about his move to Bayer 04 and his targets with the Werkself.
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