Standing ovations, resounding applause and warm embraces: After his teammates gave him a fitting reception a few days ago, Bayer 04 members of staff now congratulated Kossounou on winning AFCON with the Ivory Coast.
"I experienced everything at the tournament. Losing 4-0 in front of our own fans in the group stage was painful. But we kept on going and won in the end. That helps me and my mentality – hopefully I can pass on some of that to the team," said Kossounou.
The Ivorians started the tournament in their own country with a 2-0 win against Guinea-Bissau. However, the hosts lost the other group matches against Nigeria (0-1) and Equatorial Guinea (0-4). Ivory Coast went through the knockout rounds as one of the four best third-placed teams. Werkself player Kossounou did not play in the three group matches. Coach Jean-Louis Gasset was sacked following the two defeats and before the Round of 16 game.
His successor Emerse Faé made changes for the knockout rounds including bringing Kossounou into the line-up. The Leverkusen defender played 116 minutes in the win on penalties against Senegal in the Round of 16. The following quarter-final against Mali saw Kossounou sent off on 43 minutes for a second yellow card offence but the Ivorians went on to win 2-1 in extra time. That was followed by a 1-0 win against the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the suspended Werkself player looking on from the stands. Kossounou returned to the starting XI for the final between Ivory Coast and Nigeria – and he celebrated a 2-1 victory with his teammates.
The Nerazzurri are in town: Today, Tuesday 10 December, Bayer 04 entertain the reigning champions of Italy Inter Milan on Matchday 6 in the UEFA Champions League (kick-off: 21.00 CET/live on DAZN and on Werkself Radio). Read on for the latest information on the home game at the BayArena.
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The Bayer 04 U19 team lost 1-0 to Inter Milan on the sixth and final matchday in the league phase of the UEFA Youth League 2024/25. The only goal of the game was scored just after the hour mark. While the side from North Italy have finished top in the league phase with a maximum points return, the Leverkusen team appeared to have just missed out on the knockout stages of the European competition. There is faint hope looking to several games to follow where results are needed to go the way of the Werkself.
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Italian teams are known for being strong in defence. The fact that Inter Milan, the next opponents for the Werkself in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, 10 December (kick-off: 20.45 CET), have not conceded a single goal in their last five matches is impressive. Will the visitors' keeper Yann Sommer be able to keep a clean sheet at the BayArena against Florian Wirtz and Co.? The lowdown on our next opponents.
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The Werkself are away to Borussia Dortmund on Bundesliga Matchday 16. The game at the Signal Iduna Park on Friday, 10 January 2025, kicks off at 20.30 CET. Read on for information on ticket sales.
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