The 16-year-old goalkeeper Roy Steur leaves the prestigious youth section at Ajax after six years and is now part of the Bayer 04 U19 squad. The two 15-year-old offensive players Jordan Zirkzee, brother of the FC Bayern striker Joshua Zirkzee, and Abdul Sesay will be on the hunt for goals with the Leverkusen U17s. Steur and Sesay have already made a number of international appearances for the Netherlands at youth level, Zirkzee has also attended several sessions organised by the Netherlands youth teams. His first youth international appearances fell victim to the coronavirus pandemic and the associated cancellation of matches.
"We are happy to have brought in such ambitious and talented youth players," said Thomas Eichin, head of the Performance Centre at Bayer 04. Bernd Korzynietz, head of youth scouting, talks about three players, "where we have not only succeeded in bringing in a wealth of talent. They also give us a boost on a personal level. Bayer 04 Leverkusen not only has a great reputation within Germany but also abroad as the signatures of these players demonstrate."
It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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