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 Germany U19 team were beaten 2-0 by record champions Spain in the final of the U19 European Championship in Wales. Bayer 04 players Montrell Culbreath and Francis Onyeka (on loan at SV 07 Elversberg) were in the starting line-up and played the full 90 minutes.
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Bayer 04 Women have boosted their firepower with the signing of Poland international Paulina Tomasiak. The 24-year-old striker moves to Leverkusen from Gornik Leczna in her homeland on a two-year contract.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed France U17 international Kenan Doganay. The 1.90-metre-tall defensive midfielder, who has Turkish roots, joins Leverkusen from the U19s at French top-flight club Olympique Lyon. He will initially train with and play for the U19 team.
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The Sports Tribunal of the German Football Association (DFB) has fined Bayer 04 Leverkusen €185,000 for spectators setting off pyrotechnic devices during a total of five competitive matches. This relates to four Bundesliga matches and the DFB Pokal semi-final against Bayern Munich. The highest individual fine relates to the away match at FC Köln at the end of April.
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