Buendia was born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, around 400 kilometres from the capital Buenos Aires. He took his first steps in football with local club Cadetes de San Martin and was only 12 years old when he left home to join the academy at Real Madrid, where a certain Xabi Alonso was playing in the senior team. His time with Los Blancos was only brief, though, as Buendia soon moved to the outskirts of the city with Getafe.
The right-footer made his debut for the Madrid club’s second team in the third tier at the age of 17 in March 2014. Within a year he’d got his first taste of senior football in the cup before his La Liga debut on 1 February 2015. Getafe were relegated that season, while injuries restricted the midfielder to just 12 appearances in the following 2016/17 campaign in the second division.
In 2017/18, Buendia was sent on loan to second division outfit Cultural Leonesa and went on to score six goals and provide 12 assists in 40 league appearances. Although his team couldn’t avoid relegation, his displays caught the eye and earned him the Player of the Year award in Spain’s second division and the title of Player of the Season by Leonesa fans.
Buendia left Spain in 2018 to begin a new chapter in England. He was Daniel Farke’s first signing as Norwich City boss in the EFL Championship and went on to have a direct hand in 20 goals across 38 league outings as the Canaries topped the table to secure promotion back to the Premier League.
Although the following campaign in the top flight ended in relegation, the Argentine featured in 36 out of 38 games, scoring once and providing six assists. He stayed with Norwich after they went down and once again led them back to the big time as champions, being named Championship Player of the Season after contributing 15 goals and 16 assists in 39 games.
Buendia went on to join Aston Villa for the 2021/22 season – partially under Steven Gerrard – and made 35 Premier League appearances (a direct hand in 10 goals) in his first year. His performances for his club earned a call-up for the national team and a senior debut for Argentina in a 1-0 win over Colombia in World Cup qualifying in February 2022. Buendia holds both Spanish and Argentinian citizenship and had previously represented the former at U19 level in 2014 and the latter with the U20s in 2015.
The midfielder would play every league game in 2022/23, contributing seven goals, but then missed the next year due to a cruciate ligament injury.
The new Leverkusen man has already been in UEFA Champions League action this season, starting four of Villa’s first seven games of the league phase as they compete alongside the Werkself for a place in the last 16.
Buendia will be at the BayArena on Wednesday evening to watch his new team in action for the first time as they conclude the league phase against Sparta Prague.
Following the Bundesliga clash against RB Leipzig (Sunday, 20 September, 15:30 CEST), some of the Werkself first team players will be heading off for the first international break of the season. Here is an overview of the Bayer 04 players called up for their national teams and all the details of their upcoming matches.
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A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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