Merle Barth joined the Bayer 04 U17 squad in 2009; the defender made her debut in the Women's Bundesliga the following season and went on to make 144 appearances. The 26-year-old earned a regular berth in the team and wore the captain's armband at the start of this campaign. "We'd like to thank Merle for the past eleven years at Leverkusen. She is an outstanding player and remained loyal to the club in good times and less good times. We wish her all the best and good health in her professional and personal future," said Linda Schöttler, section head of women's football at Bayer 04.
Lena Uebach joined the Bayer 04 Women in 2017/18 as a U17 European Champion. The 19-year-old signed for Leverkusen in the second division from fourth division Sportfreunde Siegen. After one season, she helped Leverkusen get promoted to the top flight. The striker made 58 appearances for the Black and Reds. "Lena played a big part in us getting promoted again and has matured a lot in the last three years. We are very proud of having been able to play our part in her brilliant development and we wish her all the best for the new challenge at Turbine Potsdam," said Schöttler.
The Leverkusen eSports team played the remaining three of the six matches in the online preliminary round of the fourth showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg were among the teams with the highest goal threat, including two World Cup participants in their ranks. Although the #B04eSports players were defeated in the matches overall, nine points from the first three games last week were enough for Leverkusen to advance to the offline round in Berlin on 2 February.
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A decisive showdown awaits: The Werkself are aiming to progress to the play-off round of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League with a home win against Villarreal CF on the eighth and final matchday of the league phase. Ahead of the match on Wednesday, 28 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the game, the possible return of Edmond Tapsoba and a statement from new signing Jonas Omlin in an exclusive interview with Werkself TV. Lucas Vázquez, for his part, spoke about his role on and off the pitch as well as tomorrow’s opponents, who he often faced in Spain with Real Madrid.
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For Villarreal CF, the match at Bayer 04 on Wednesday, 28 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), will be their last appearance on the European stage this season. The Spanish side, currently fourth in La Liga, are still without a win in the UEFA Champions League and, with just one point from their seven games so far, have no chance of making the play-offs. The 2021 Europa League winners can therefore play without any pressure at the BayArena and will be looking to bow out of the competition with a good performance. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will to have manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir. The Morocco international suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle before the AFCON final defeat against Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.).
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The VBL Club Championship 2025/26 continues. Tonight, 27 January (live on Twitch and on the Bayer 04 app from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports team will play the remaining three matches in the online preliminary round of Showdown Four. They are up against FC Kaiserslautern, SC Freiburg and the current club champions and Showdown Three winners RB Leipzig, with whom Bayer 04, club runners-up and Showdown One winners, shared some memorable moments, especially last year. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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