Aleksandar Dragovic has played for Bayer 04 for the last five years and proved loyal to the Werkself defence throughout that time. Sometimes in central defence, sometimes at right-back or even as a holding midfielder – ‘Drago’ has been a team player whenever he was needed. “Being a striker is still missing,” joked the Austrian when asked about his versatility before modestly adding: “I try to do my best for the club in every position and I’m the sort of person who always puts the success of the team first.”
That goes down well with the fans. And it’s no surprise that Dragovic gained great popularity with Werkself supporters over the years. His relaxed manner, his humour and the fact he has a waggish sense of humour – it all went down well with the North Stand. A song has been dedicated to him. To the melody of the 80’s classic ‘Sauerland’ by the Zoff group, Werkself fans sing: “Dragovic! My heart beats for you, Dragovic. He scythes down opponents from behind and has the best hair in the whole league.” With a wink of the eye – exactly to the liking of Aleksandar Dragovic.
When you look at the player’s development, the 30-year-old is extremely determined and ambitious. That was evident early on: As a youngster, the Viennese played for the youth teams at FK Austria and he moved up to the senior squad in 2008. After three successful years at Austria, where Dragovic won the Austrian cup as the first of his four titles, the Austrian with Serbian roots joined the Swiss record champions. He went on to win three league titles and another domestic cup competition with FC Basel. Ahead of his move to Bayer 04, the defensive stalwart spent three years in Ukraine from 2013: The Bayer 04 defender was able to win an impressive five titles with Dynamo Kiev and he made it to the Champions League Round of 16 in 2015/16.
Dragovic moved to Leverkusen in the summer of 2016. With the exemption of the 2017/18 campaign, when he was on loan to Leicester City, he always gave his all for Bayer 04. “Success in football doesn’t happen on its own and nobody gives it to you. Even if you are at the top, you always still have to take one more step than the others,” said Dragovic.
In addition to his uncompromising and robust approach to challenges and tackles, the Austrian is also known for his qualities on the ball. “I would say I’m a central defender who’s good on the ball. If it’s possible I try to be cautious in solving problems. I’m no fan of ‘kick and rush’, where the ball is just booted up field,” said the 30-year-old in assessing his style of play.
The Werkself benefited several times from Drago’s ability to play the game: The talented central defender scored the winner late on in this season’s 2-1 away win for the Werkself at Arminia Bielefeld on matchday 8. A powerful Dragovic volley on the European stage contributed to the 3-2 win against Nice in the Europa League group stage.
In the usual Dragovic manner, the grounded defensive stalwart does not attach too much importance to personal success: “You can never rest. You can be the hero one week and the bogeyman the next. You have to focus on yourself every day and not rest on your laurels from the day before.” And you can be certain: At his favourite club as a child, Drago will give his all every day at the top Serbian side Red Star Belgrade to achieve the maximum success.
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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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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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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