Leon, do you know the meaning of the German word ‘Angstgegner’ (nemesis)?
Yes, I know it (he grins).
You could say: You are the ‘Angstgegner’ of Bayern Munich. You’ve scored four goals in five games against the best defence in the Bundesliga – alongside RB Leipzig. How do you explain your record? You haven’t scored more goals against any other Bundesliga club…
I think FC Bayern are one of the best teams in the world. Every time I play against them, it feels like a Champions League final. I automatically give 110 per cent. I’m a young player and if I want to make it to the next step, I need to perform against these teams because these are top notch teams. That’s why games like this are so important.
You were the matchwinner in the clash in Munich last November with your two goals. The 2-1 victory was the first win for the Werkself in Munich since 2012. What can you remember of that day?
That day was a very special day for me and I’ll definitely never be able to forget that. The three points were important for the team and for the club as well – above all as we were very lucky too. But anyway. It was a great moment for us and for the fans.
You scored the first goal with your right and the second with your left foot.
It was just an instinct when I got the ball with both foot I just shoot because I know: If you don’t shoot, you’ll never score (he laughs). After the first goal, I celebrated like I’ve done so often. And when I scored the 2-1, I felt that we were going to win. Then I did the W for Win with my fingers. The best goal against Bayern Munich was definitely the free kick in the home game that we won 3-1 in the end (2 February 2019, ed.).
Do you prefer games against top teams like Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Leipzig? You’ve scored against all three this season…
I live for games like that. I want to leave a legacy for my people of Jamaica and to show them that there’s hope and the possibility for people if you work hard to achieve something. And these are the games I need to do it in to showcase my talent and showcase that I want to reach to the top.
The coronavirus pandemic is also affecting life in your homeland at the moment. How are your relatives getting on in Jamaica?
Fortunately they are all healthy. I’m in daily contact with with my family. There’s lockdown in many places in Jamaica. They’re not allowed to leave their houses or neighbourhoods. Jamaica is a small country that unfortunately doesn’t have the necessary resources to fight the virus. That’s why I try to help out with food or money as much I can from so far away.
Let’s finish with a look to the future: Nobody knows if and when the Bundesliga season will be completed. How do you manage to maintain motivation in light of that?
I think positively, I’m basically a positive person. Of course, I miss being on the pitch with the team and being cheered on by the fans. But when it gets going again, we’ll be ready as a team.
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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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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With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.
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The ‘year after’ the most successful year in the club's history brought many changes at Bayer 04. In an exclusive double interview with bayer04.de shortly before the Christmas break, Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes spoke about building a new team capable of winning trophies, the work of coach Kasper Hjulmand, the young new signings who have quickly developed into key players, and their personal plans for the Christmas holidays. Their outlook for the coming year also shows that the potential is far from exhausted and ambitions remain high.
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Last-minute ecstasy, huge disappointment and a historic performance on the European stage - 2025 was a real emotional roller coaster, especially for the U19s. A rousing run in the knockout phase secured the team a place in the final of the German championships, where they lost by the narrowest of margins. Despite the departure of several key players, the young Werkself team quickly regained their usual strength and qualified for the knockout rounds in the UEFA Youth League for the first time at the end of the year. In 2025, youngsters Jeremiah Mensah and Montrell Culbreath made their debuts in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. The other youth teams also contributed great performances and a number of trophies to the collective Black and Red success, while the successful Bayer 04 Future Kids project broke new ground. Read on for the 2025 review of the youth teams.
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