With team-mate Wendell looking on, the Werkself number 20 went the full distance in midfield against Ecuador in the second group match in Salvador and once again he came up with the goods as in the first group match against Japan (4-0): The 30-year-old took the corner for the opening goal from José Fuenzalida (CSD Colo-Colo) and he laid on the winner at 2-1 for Alexis Sánches (Manchester United) with a cross from the right. The victory sees Chile hold on to top spot in Group C and they are through to the quarter-finals ahead of the last group match against Uruguay early on Tuesday (25 June, 01.00 CET).
Leon Bailey and his Jamaican team-mates also remain unbeaten at the Gold Cup (15 June to 7 July in the USA, Costa Rica and Jamaica) – the Reggae Boyz could only manage a goalless draw against second-placed El Salvador but they remain top of Group C ahead of their final group match thanks to a better goal difference. In an evenly balanced encounter, with Jamaica having the better chances, Bailey played the full 90 minutes on the right wing. The 0-0 draw gives Jamaica the chance to go through to the quarter-finals of the competition in the game against the one-points worse off Curaçao in third place on Wednesday (26 June, 02.00 CET).
The Bayer 04 youth player Marc Lamti starts the Africa Cup (21 June to 19 July) on Monday (19.00 CET) with the competition held in Egypt this year. The Eagles of Carthage play 2006 World Cup participants Angola in the first match in Group E.
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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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