Jeremie Frimpong was the Bayer 04 player who took part in the press conference, with Carl Starfelt as the Celtic player representative. The Swedish defender said: “Leverkusen have an amazing team. They’ve had a great start to the season and have a lot of very good players in their ranks. It’ll be a tough test for us, but we know we’re very strong at Celtic Park. So, we’ll go out there tomorrow evening and enjoy this great challenge.”
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou added: “Every match is a challenge. And when you want to progress, home games are key – regardless of other results. We’ve got a great evening ahead of us.”
UEFA have appointed Italian Marco di Bello to referee this fixture. The 40-year-old made his debut in Serie A back in 2012. He’s never overseen a Leverkusen game before but has previously come across midfielder Nadiem Amiri. The Werkself man started the Germany U21’s 2-1 win over England in March 2019 with Di Bello at the whistle.
Hradecky & Co. will have some support among the fervent Celtic Park faithful. Around 200 Bayer 04 fans have made the trip to Glasgow. Great to have them along!
The opponent may be different but the hotel is the same. The Werkself are again staying near Glasgow’s main station, which was also their base when they earned a 3-1 win at Rangers in March last year.
There was a nice story for the travelling Werkself in the local papers. The Scottish Sun had spoken with Michael Henke – Ottmar Hitzfeld’s assistant when Bayern Munich won the Champions League in 2001 – about Leverkusen’s current form. “They’ve showed very good performances so far. Everything points to them winning. Their performances are a little surprising because they brought in a coach not really known in Germany and have a young team.”
The 64-year-old also spoke about Florian Wirtz: “He’s only 18 but has already scored five goals and got five assists. He plays so nonchalant, like he was a mature player and had many years of experience as a professional footballer.”
It’s been very much Patrik Schick’s year after his five goals for the Czech Republic at the Euros. The 25-year-old has now also started the season in fine scoring form with the Werkself, netting four times in six games in the Bundesliga. No surprise, then, that former Germany international Stefan Effenberg has named the Bayer 04 man in his top 10 strikers in Europe right now. Top of the pile was Robert Lewandowski, with Schick in eighth.
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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A special surprise: during the preview for the 'Fierté Burkinabè' documentary about Edmond Tapsoba, Bayer 04 directors Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes announced Tapsoba's contract extension until 2031 together with the centre-back. He then spoke to Werkself-TV about his time in Leverkusen so far and future ambitions...
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This evening was deeply moving: At a really special setting, Bayer 04 exclusively presented the specially produced documentary ‘Fierté Burkinabè’ ("Burkinabe Pride") about Edmond Tapsoba on Tuesday. For the preview at the BayArena, the parents of the Werkself player and other close companions travelled all the way from his African homeland Burkina Faso. The 45-minute film shows Tapsoba's extraordinary career from his beginnings in Ouagadougou to Leverkusen as well as the work of his foundation "Fondation Edmond Tapsoba", with representatives from Burkina Faso also present. Fans can watch the documentary free of charge on Werkself TV and YouTube from Wednesday night at 20:00 CEST.
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Bayer 04 have signed left-back Carolin Simon from champions Bayern Munich for the coming season. The 33-year-old former Germany international, who played for Leverkusen from 2013 to 2016, has signed a contract to 30 June 2028.
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Bayer 04 Women have strengthened for the coming season with the signing of Lobke Loone. The 23-year-old Dutch striker joins from Utrecht on a contract until 30 June 2028.
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