Born in Willich on the Lower Rhine, 60 kilometres from Leverkusen, Janis Blaswich joined the Borussia Mönchengladbach youth set-up at the age of 15. Three years later, in 2009, he made his debut for the Foals' reserves against the Bayer 04 reserves. Blaswich then stayed with Borussia M'gladbach II for a further four years before going out on loan to Dynamo Dresden (2015/16) and Hansa Rostock (2017/18) - and becoming a first-choice player at each of the third division clubs. Blaswich's performances helped Dresden to clinch the third division championship and promotion to Bundesliga 2.
He finally left Borussia Mönchengladbach for good in the 2018/19 season and moved abroad for the first time to Heracles Almelo. The 1.93 metre tall goalkeeper stayed in the Netherlands for four years, making more than 100 appearances in the Eredivisie during that period.
Blaswich returned to the Bundesliga in the summer of 2022 and joined RB Leipzig. Initially pencilled in as number two, he made a total of 64 competitive appearances for the Saxons, including a 2-0 win in the 2022/23 DFB Cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt. He followed that up by also lifting the Supercup.
It was also during the spell at RB that national coach Julian Nagelsmann handed him his first call-up to the DFB squad, and Blaswich was part of the German national team for a total of four internationals.
Last season, Leverkusen's new signing played on loan at Austrian Bundesliga club Red Bull Salzburg. There, the 34-year-old was immediately appointed captain and led the team out in the first nine league games as well as in four Champions League matches. Blaswich missed out on playing against Bayer 04, but subsequently returned to action against Real Madrid, among other sides.
After various stints in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, Blaswich is now looking forward to "playing for the most high-calibre club in my home region and one of the best clubs in Germany. I'm absolutely thrilled about what lies ahead."
The Germany U19 team were beaten 2-0 by record champions Spain in the final of the U19 European Championship in Wales. Bayer 04 players Montrell Culbreath and Francis Onyeka (on loan at SV 07 Elversberg) were in the starting line-up and played the full 90 minutes.
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Bayer 04 Women have boosted their firepower with the signing of Poland international Paulina Tomasiak. The 24-year-old striker moves to Leverkusen from Gornik Leczna in her homeland on a two-year contract.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed France U17 international Kenan Doganay. The 1.90-metre-tall defensive midfielder, who has Turkish roots, joins Leverkusen from the U19s at French top-flight club Olympique Lyon. He will initially train with and play for the U19 team.
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The Sports Tribunal of the German Football Association (DFB) has fined Bayer 04 Leverkusen €185,000 for spectators setting off pyrotechnic devices during a total of five competitive matches. This relates to four Bundesliga matches and the DFB Pokal semi-final against Bayern Munich. The highest individual fine relates to the away match at FC Köln at the end of April.
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