
Florian Wirtz and his teammates at Bayer 04 last season won the German league title for the first time in the club's history and also became the first Bundesliga team to play a whole season without defeat in the league. In addition, the Werkself won the DFB Pokal to secure the double. Wirtz and Co. also lifted the Supercup trophy at the start of the current campaign.
The other nominations in the category of FIFA World Player are the two former Leverkusen players Toni Kroos and Dani Carvajal plus Rodri, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, Lionel Messi and Vinicius Junior.
Head coach Xabi Alonso is also in the running for this year's The Best FIFA Football Awards. His rivals in the category of Coach of the Year are Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid), Lionel Scaloni (Argentina), Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) and Luis de la Fuente (Spain).
The Black and Reds are also well represented in the vote for Team of the Year: In the category of the Best FIFA Defender 2024 you can vote for Jonathan Tah, Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo and in the category of the Best FIFA Midfielder 2024 for Granit Xhaka and Florian Wirtz.
Bayer 04 fans can cast their votes in the different categories up to 10 December (23.59 CET) at FIFA.com. The votes of players, coaches and media representatives also come in on equal terms. The winners will be announced at a gala event in January 2025.

There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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Bayer 04 have won each of their last five competitive encounters with 1. FC Köln, and it's around seven years since their last defeat in the cathedral city. That said, the hosts are in strong form at home and will make it anything but easy for the Werkself at the RheinEnergieSTADION on Sunday afternoon (kick-off 15:30 CET). The Matchday News.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 2-0 win against Hamburger SV on Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.
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1. FC Köln host Bayer 04 on Sunday 8 November (kick-off 15:30 CET) in the 75th Bundesliga derby between the Rhineland neighbours. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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