Dirk Heinen, who won the DFB Cup with the Werkself in 1993 and the German league title with VfB Stuttgart in 2007, ended his playing career after the 2006/07 season and emigrated to Ireland with his family. During the 90-minute show, the current goalkeeping coach at Watford, talks about his life on the British Isles, the ‘Rhenisch mentality’ and lots of really extraordinary experiences from his football career - such as his appearance on the German version of You Bet! in 2006, a donner sauce in Turkey named after him and his unexpected but successful Bundesliga comeback at Arminia Bielefeld at the age of 37.
Heinen, who celebrated his 50th birthday at the beginning of December, also looks back at the 1995/96 season that almost ended in relegation with a ‘final’ against FC Kaiserslautern, talks about twists of fate, bad luck with injuries but also his special relationship with his long-term role model and later teammate and mentor Rüdiger Vollborn, who surprises our guest with a question as does his former Brazilian teammate Paulo Sergio.
This episode again provides exiting insights into the world of Bayer 04 (in German). Listen in!
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After just two points from their last four games, the situation has become trickier for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the bottom third of the table. Only three points separate the Foals from the relegation play-off spot. Coach Eugen Polanski's team is under pressure ahead of the home game against the Werkself on Saturday, 7 February (kick-off: 18:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Calling all eSports fans: On Saturday, 21 February (from 16:00 CET), the Werkself Wildcard Cup will take place at XPERION Köln (Hansaring 97, 50670 Cologne). Interested EA FC 26 amateur players will have the opportunity to win attractive prizes and a place in the VBL Open Play-offs by WOW. The play-offs are the final preliminary stage of the VBL Grand Final by WOW, the tournament for the German individual championship and, alongside the club championship (VBL CC), the most important sub-competition in the German eSports scene. Read on for information on registration.
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At its first general meeting on 5 February 2026 in Frankfurt am Main, the Frauen Bundesliga FBL e.V. made key decisions regarding the future direction of the Women’s Bundesliga. The meeting was based on the results of the negotiations with the German Football Association (DFB) over the past few weeks.
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Another efficient performance from the Werkself in the 3-0 home win against FC St. Pauli saw them reach the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal for the third time in a row, and it was not the only record set on what was a successful evening. It meant head coach Kasper Hjulmand was delighted to "still be in with the chance of winning something". Like the coach, however, the ambitious Edmond Tapsoba also stated that he wanted to keep "improving" bit by bit: "We'll continue to give our all, no matter who we come up against." The Werkself review of the clash.
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