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Bayer 04’s most recent encounter with Paderborn came in July as Alonso’s side were beaten 2-1 in a pre-season friendly. Things were very different ahead of that game in Velbert compared to this week’s cup tie. “The game has still taught us a few helpful lessons,” the boss said at his press conference on Tuesday.
While Leverkusen have so far seen off opponents from lower leagues in the first two rounds, beating Teutonia Ottensen of the fourth tier and Sandhausen of the third division, Paderborn have claimed a 7-0 win at Energie Cottbus and stunned Bundesliga side Freiburg with a 3-1 away victory. “They played really well with and without the ball against Freiburg, showed a mature performance,” Alonso stated. “We can’t relax in this game but have to play with much more patience and control.”
The Spaniard is excited ahead of the round of 16 in a “special competition. The DFB-Pokal isn’t the easiest route to winning a title. There isn’t one. But it’s the shortest,” he added, once again calling for the great support of the fans. A total of 29,000 tickets have so far been sold for Wednesday’s game, with Bayer 04 expecting a sold-out home crowd. Around 2,300 fans are expected to come from Paderborn.
Alonso also confirmed at the press conference that Arthur suffered another injury in training on money. A precise diagnosis is still to be confirmed. All other players are available for the 42-year-old against Paderborn.
And while Alonso didn’t want to give any hints to his line-up when it comes to outfield players, he did confirm who his goalkeeper will be. “Matej Kovar will be in goal. It’s not a general decision but one for this game. It’s what we’ve always done so far.”
Talking about greater potential rotation, the coach stressed that every player is important: “I never talk about rotation but about the entire squad. So far, we’ve done things well. It’s a luxury to be able to decide.”
The German Football League (DFL) has announced the three candidates for Bundesliga ‘Rookie of the Month’ for February. Among the candidates is Werkself player Jarell Quansah. Fans of Bayer 04 can vote for their favourite on the Bundesliga app from now until Thursday, 5 March (23:59 CET).
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On a day that celebrated 50 years of official Bayer 04 fan clubs with festivities on the pitch during the match against FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday, New York-based Werkself Warriors were proudly represented on the field by co-founder Alex Kramm.
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The Werkself conceded a goal at home for the first time since the beginning of January 67 minutes into the game against FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday. Jarell Quansah levelled late on for the final score of 1-1 to secure a point and avoid a first home defeat in six games. Bayer 04 were very critical of their performance after the game. The Werkself review.
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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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