The birthday celebrations within the squad for Jeremie Frimpong, who is 21 today (Friday), could fortunately be held on the training ground. As usual on this occasion, the Dutchman had to negotiate a tunnel of teammates standing closely together. Frimpong completed this with a smile on his face and without pain in his ankle, which did not look likely after the final whistle in the match in Budapest.
The right-back came off the bench and was brought down in added time and had to leave the pitch before the end of the game. "Jeremie received a heavy blow to his ankle. Fortunately he didn't suffer any injuries to his ligaments. It's looking good," explained Gerardo Seoane at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
Seoane, who did not lose any players from the intense match at Ferencváros, is able to focus fully on the away game in Frankfurt. Eintracht have recovered recently and, like the Werkself, won their group in the Europa League. The team coached by Oliver Glasner have picked up ten points from the last five Bundesliga matches. "Frankfurt have come into very good form in recent weeks – not just in terms of performances but also results," warned Seoane.
The 43-year-old Swiss coach on the approach of Eintracht Frankfurt: "They have a ball-winning and physical team and often are very quick in transition after winning the ball just as we are. Unsurprisingly, he identified the key attacking player as Filip Kostic. The Serbian winger has scored three goals and provided six assists in the Bundesliga to date: "He's an outstanding crosser of the ball. We'll have to try and close him down – even if that's not always possible over 90 minutes."
After the "all in all good display" in Budapest, Seoane now has several new possibilities in terms of personnel for the next three league matches within just nine days. Players who have returned from injury were able to pick up important match practice as were others who have rarely started recently. "We have three tough games. We need to have a lot of players available," explained Seoane who is looking for a fourth Bundesliga win in succession.

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 special edition jerseys to fan banners, the home game against Mainz 05 was all about the many Bayer 04 fan clubs. Accordingly, a fitting tribute to the long-standing Werkself supporters was not to be missed during half-time in the Bundesliga match. Fernando Carro, CEO, honoured the up to 50-year anniversaries of six fan clubs in front of the coaches' benches at the BayArena.
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It is an expression of solidarity and a tribute to the unique fan culture Under the Cross: Bayer 04 Leverkusen make a special statement with the "50 Years of Fan Clubs" jersey. To mark the founding of the "First Fan Club 1976 Leverkusen", which was followed by many more over the years right up to the present day, the Bundesliga club is commemorating 50 years of passion with this new jersey. Highs and lows, successes celebrated together as well as defeats suffered are manifested in this piece of white fabric, a symbol of unwavering identification with the Werkself.
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There’s lots going on at the BayArena today. The home game against FSV Mainz 05 is all about the numerous Bayer 04 fan clubs, whose birth - the founding of the "1. Fanclub 1976 Leverkusen" - dates back 50 years. A number of fan club representatives will be involved in awards, a banner display and a half-time matchday chat, and the Werkself are set to play in a special white fan club jersey. During half-time, Leverkusen mayor Stefan Hebbel and javelin world champion Steffi Nerius will also talk about the Olympic bid involving Leverkusen. Black and Red fans are advised to get to the stadium in good time today. Matchday news.
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The Werkself host Premier League club Arsenal in the Round of 16 first leg in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. The match at the BayArena is on 10/11 March. Read on for information on ticket sales for this fixture.
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