All three received an official farewell at the last home game of the season against Schalke 04. The two managing directors Fernando Carro and Rudi Völler thanked the trio for their commitment to Bayer 04.
Jonas Boldt worked for the Werkself for a total of 15 years. It began in 2003 with a placement; in 2007 the man from Nuremberg joined the scouting department. As a scout, head scout, sporting manager and finally sporting director – the 37-year-old has played a significant part in all the transfers in recent years thus making a contribution to the success of the Werkself. At the end of November last year, Jonas Boldt decided to leave his post as sporting director and the club at the end of the season.
While Boldt leaves Bayer 04 after a long stay, Isaac Kiese Thelin and Thorsten Kirschbaum only moved to Leverkusen in the summer of 2018. Kiese Thelin joined the Werkself from Anderlecht on a season-long loan. Last term the Sweden striker made 14 appearances in all competitions and scored one goal.
Goalkeeper Thorsten Kirschbaum also leaves the club after one season. The 32-year-old was the third choice shot-stopper in this campaign behind Lukas Hradecky and Ramazan Özcan. In the middle of December the number 24 made his competitive debut for the Black and Reds in the 5-1 win at AEK Larnaca in the Europa League – it was also Kirschbaum’s first game in a European cup competition.
With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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A successful fourth preseason friendly ahead of the start of the training camp: The Werkself secured a 3-0 victory over Rot-Weiss Essen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The goals in what was a commanding and dominant performance by Leverkusen from the outset were scored by Ibrahim Maza (8'), Patrik Schick from the penalty spot (23’) and, in the second half, Montrell Culbreath with a header (79’). The team set off for their training camp in Blankenhain in the Weimarer Land region after the game.
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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 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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You have voted – your ‘Team of the Quarter-Century’ has been decided! This historic selection, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, features honorary captains, Bundesliga champions, double winners and Champions League finalists. Edmond Tapsoba is the only player from the current Bayer 04 squad to make it into the starting XI, while his team-mate Patrik Schick is on the bench. Simon Rolfes, the current managing director sport, is also in the lie-up. A truly special team that brings together a quarter of a century of Bayer 04 history – and has left a decisive mark on the club.
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Following Patrik Schick, Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Kerim Alajbegovic earlier this week, the next World Cup participant is back on the training ground in Leverkusen: On Thursday 30 July, Malik Tillman rejoined the squad, completing his first training session under head coach Carles Martínez.
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