
“Despite his young age, Ken Izekor is already an outstanding player in our U17 team,” declared Bayer 04 sporting managing director Simon Rolfes. “He’s real goal-getter, has enormous determination and a great ability to assert himself. We are very happy that Ken and his family identify with Bayer 04 so much and we are certain he will continue on his more than positive path.”
Izekor has played in Bayer 04 youth teams since 2018. Born in Aachen, he moved from the Alemannia youth set-up to the Kurtekotten Performance Centre and he recently helped the Germany U16 team win in a UEFA youth tournament in Portugal.
Izekor has scored 15 goals in twelve games in the U17 Bundesliga West and he also made an impressive six appearances in the UEFA Youth League. The top talent has played two games for the U19s in the Bundesliga West and also competed in the DFB Youth Cup (one game, one goal).
“I’ve felt at home at this club from the start and I can see there’s a big chance here of becoming a successful professional player.” said Izekor. “On top of that, I’ve crossed my fingers for Leverkusen since I was a child. That’s why I think it’s brilliant to continue my development here.”

Bayer 04 host Borussia Mönchengladbach at the BayArena on matchday 12 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The schedule for the game remains to be confirmed. The latest information on ticket sales.
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Bayer 04 host Eintracht Frankfurt at the BayArena on matchday 14 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The schedule for the game remains to be confirmed. The latest information on ticket sales.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the women's DFB-Pokal 2026/27
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“As far as mentality and determination are concerned, we have nothing to reproach ourselves for,” Robert Andrich said up after the first home defeat for the Werkself this term. In terms of their play, too, the Black and Reds put in a respectable performance for long stretches of this intense and physical match, outperforming VfB Stuttgart in most areas. It was only in terms of efficiency in front of goal that the Swabians had the edge over the Werkself. Head coach Carles Martínez wants to learn from this so that, in future, they can “win this sort of match too”. 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 working 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 personal 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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