The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger divides their report on the 2-1 home win against Schalke 04 into categories including one entitled 'That was good': "The efforts of the new Leverkusen coaching staff to be more compact and adopt a more defensive approach to the game were modestly and industriously implemented."
Hannes Wolf made six changes in his first game in charge of the Werkself compared with the 3-0 defeat at Hertha Berlin, the last match for Peter Bosz in charge of the Black and Reds. That included the return of Lukas Hradecky in goal and another experienced leader came into a newly formed back three in the shape of Sven Bender. The latter was named man of the match by the KStA for the following reasons: "The key defender firstly provided the necessary organisation in the defence […]. On top of that, he won 67 per cent of challenges and completed 92 per cent of his passes."
Hradecky had missed seven games due to his Achilles injury. Sven Bender had been sidelined for five games before the clash with the Royal Blues. And Exequiel Palacios was able to look back at an even longer spell on the sidelines ahead of #B04S04: Across all competitions, the Argentinian watched nine games from the bench with his last Bundesliga appearance back on 1 November of last year. However, Wolf put 'Pala' straight into his first Leverkusen starting eleven – and that selection was justified with a commanding and energetic performance. The Rheinische Post correctly declares that the 22-year-old midfielder played with "aggressive tackling and great commitment."
The Express talks about a "comeback festival." On the one hand, due to the appearance of the previously mentioned Werkself trio and, on the other, because of the Schalke 04 striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. The 37-year-old was in the Schalke starting line-up for the first time after injury and he scored on 81 minutes to make it 2-1 after goals from Lucas Alario (26’) and Patrik Schick (72’). Huntelaar is now Schalke's oldest ever goalscorer in the Bundesliga.
The Bild-Zeitung uses a short but important quote from the new Bayer 04 head coach Wolf. The 39-year-old said after his debut victory: "We can and should create more chances. It could be better. But I'm happy with the win." The kicker chooses the word "efficiency" used widely in football jargon.
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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