…the player Santiago Arias: I will do my best here every day. I've already been able to gain a lot of experience in my career so far. I want to bring that to the team and make my contribution to achieving the club's targets.
…the South American teammates at the Werkself: Of course, they are a help to me; being with them is like being in a small South American family. But I quickly found my feet in the Netherlands in my time at PSV Eindhoven (2013 to 2018, ed.). I don't think I'll need a lot of time to settle in.
…the approach of his former club Atlético Madrid in comparison Bayer 04: The biggest difference is definitely the amount of possession. The main thing under Diego Simeone in Madrid was keeping a clean sheet. Here we want to be attacking and get on the front foot – I like that.
…a possible appearance at the weekend in the clash with VfB Stuttgart: I feel I'm an established part of the squad now. I'm fit and I'm just waiting for the coach's decision.


Decision made: Germany will submit a bid to the IOC (International Olympic Committee) to host the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Munich. The representatives of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) voted for Munich over Cologne-Rhine-Ruhr at their extraordinary meeting in Baden-Baden on Saturday 26 September. Berlin had already withdrawn from the vote a few days earlier.
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Former Werkself star Michael Ballack, who won the German Footballer of the Year award in 2002 while playing in Leverkusen, celebrates his 50th birthday on Saturday. Bayer 04 sends him its best wishes!
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A challenging start to what will hopefully be a long journey: The Bayer 04 women’s team kick off their new DFB Pokal campaign on Sunday (14:00 CEST) against second-division leaders FC Viktoria Berlin. Coach Roberto Pätzold expects stiff resistance in the capital – and is counting on his team’s strong away form in the Bundesliga so far this term.
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Attention Werkself fans: In addition to tickets for the floodlit home match against Werder Bremen, tickets are now also available for the Bayer 04 women’s team’s two subsequent fixtures against Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburger SV at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. Both matches in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga will take place at family-friendly kick-off times on Saturday afternoons. Here is the latest information on matchday ticket sales.
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