The third-placed team in Group D went into the knockout game against the Dutch as underdogs. In front of a 50,000 plus crowd at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, there was little to report in the first half – but the match livened up after the restart. The Netherlands defender Matthijs de Ligt foiled an attack by the opposition with a deliberate handball and he was shown the red card after the intervention of VAR. The Czechs had the extra player for over half an hour.
Patrik Schick and his team-mates exploited that advantage with Tomas Holes giving the Czech Republic the lead (68’). And the Bayer 04 striker then sealed the win: Schick made it 2-0 on 80 minutes with a left-foot shot with his fourth goal of the tournament. That makes the Leverkusen front man the second highest goalscorer at Euro 2020 behind Cristiano Ronaldo, who was knocked out along with title holders Portugal in a 1-0 defeat against Belgium. “It’s really crazy. Nobody thought we could get this far. We’re incredibly happy, ” said Schick, who went off to a deserved ovation from the fans when he was substituted in added time.
In the quarter-final between the supposed surprise teams, the Czech Republic play Denmark on Saturday, 3 July. The North Europeans clocked up a convincing 4-0 win against Wales in the Round of 16. The kick-off in Baku (Azerbaijan) is at 18.00 CEST. Good luck, Patrik!
Two other Werkself players were involved in the Round of 16. Aleksandar Dragovic and Julian Baumgartlinger with Austria were up against the impressive Italians. Austria, with Drago on the pitch for the whole game, caused real problems for the team under Roberto Mancini. As a strike by Austria’s Marko Arnautovic was ruled out as offside on 65 minutes, the match went into extra time – Italy came out on top in the end.
Federico Chiesa (95’) and Matteo Pessina (105’) scored for Italy; Sasa Kalajdzic netted a consolation goal at 2-1 on 114 minutes. Drago, the unused Baumi, and Co. were knocked out of Euro 2020 after a brave battle.
For Finland with Werkself number one Lukas Hradecky and striker Joel Pohjanpalo, who was on loan at Union Berlin last term, the exit came at the group stage. The European Championship finals newcomers finished third in Group B but the three points collected were not enough to secure a place in the Round of 16 as one of the top four third-placed teams
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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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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