Sadik, first of all congratulations belatedly on your 19th birthday. What was the day like for you?
Fofana: Thank you. It definitely wasn't a normal birthday for me. Germany is a few hours ahead so I already had lots of messages from home before my birthday here. And, to be honest: Not everyone can say they had their 19th birthday in Mexico. (He laughs)
Are there any traditions in the team you have to adhere to?
Fofana: Yes, the birthday boy traditionally runs through a guard of honour formed by the other players. Of course, I had to do that at the training session on Monday. But I was particularly happy to do it given the location.
Was there a birthday song?
Fofana: Actually I was supposed to do a serenade. But not because of my birthday but rather as a newcomer. Fortunately the others were particularly interested in that subject. (He laughs) But if they say something then I'll be happy to give the lads a speech – singing isn't my thing.
Aourir: Sadik is really good at giving speeches anyway.
Your season with the U19s was already finished…
Aourir: We had time off from training after our last game with the U19s. At school on Friday I got a call from Stefan Kießling saying I'd be flying off to Mexico two days later. I was really happy about that.
Fofana: Last week I trained on my own at the Performance Centre. On Wednesday I was supposed to send my photo to the club for my passport and on Friday I got the call with the explanation.
What was the highlight of the #Bayer04MexicoTour for you two?
Aourir: Definitely the game in Toluca. The atmosphere at the stadium was fantastic. When I got onto the pitch it was even louder and more impressive than it was outside. It felt like I was aware of every individual fan in the stand.
You also had other events around the game. What were they like?
Fofana: The media attention and the interest from the fans are obviously something quite new for us two. What I'll particularly remember was the visit to the Bayer Works. All the employees wanted to have photographs with us and our autographs. Once or twice I had to look to the more experienced lads to see what I was supposed to do.
Have your teammates from the U19s contacted you in the past days and asked you what you thought of Mexico?
Aourir: Yes, all of them actually. They all congratulated us on playing in the game on our team group on Snapchat and also told us what's happening in training with U19s at the moment. It feels good to know we all continue to get on and that nobody’s jealous or the like.
Fofana: We’re a very tight group in the U19s. When we have days off we don't go out to eat in twos or threes but rather with nine or ten of us together.
The summer break comes now after the #Bayer04MexicoTour. What are your plans?
Aourir: I've still got three weeks of school and then we're back in training with the U19s. I'll definitely fly south in the holidays.
Fofana: I'll wait and see what happens.
In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
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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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