Germany beat Cameroon 3-1 on Sunday in the Olympic city of Sochi to secure first place in Group B ahead of Chile. Germany struggled against the African champions in a goalless first half. However, the quality of the World Champions was evident after the restart. Leverkusen stars Benjamin Henrichs and Julian Brandt came on late in the game and were able to influence proceedings.Henrichs, earneing his second full cap, made his first major contribution on 77 minutes.Henrichs put in a cross and Kerem Demirbay almost converted. A few seconds later, the other Leverkusen player Julian Brandt had his chance to impress. Brandt replaced the Hoffenheim striker and he had a great opportunity to make it 3-1 on 81 minutes.That goal did come just after that. Brandt put through his club team-mate and Henrichs provided the assist for the third goal scored by Leipzig striker Timo Werner.
Chile secured second spot in the group with a 1-1 draw with Australia. The Australians, including former Leverkusen forward Robbie Kruse, led at half-time. The Chileans, again with Charles Aránguiz in the starting eleven, exerted more pressure than their opponents. Chile take on European Champions Portugal on Wednesday in Kazan. Germany remain in Sochi where they will play Mexico on Thursday.
Mexico beat hosts Russia 2-1 on Saturday to finish second behind European Champions Portugal and thereby progress to the semi-finals. As in the first group game against Portugal, Chicharito was in the starting eleven against Russia in Kazan. The record scorer was the lynch pin of his team for the full 90 minutes and he could have made it 3-1 with a header.
And finally, to round off the international appearances made by Werkself pros: The Germany U21s were in action in the U21 European Championships in the Poland. Although they lost 1-0 to Italy in the final group match, the result was good enough to take Germany through to the semi-finals. Dominik Kohr, who returns to the Werkself for the start of next season, is in the squad. Germany play England in the semi-final on Tuesday. Spain and Italy face each other in the other semi-final.
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…
Show moreTo all Bayer 04 fans: The Fanwelt will be closed all day next Monday 30 June. This is due to preparations for the change of kit supplier from Castore to New Balance on Tuesday 1 July.
Show moreThe Norway U23 international Julie Jorde has completed the move from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Brøndby IF. The twelve-time champions of Denmark have signed the midfielder on permanent terms after her loan move from the Bundesliga to Denmark in the winter.
Show moreIt is almost two years since Bayer 04 new signing Abdoulaye Faye first stepped foot into the BayArena as a player for the Swedish club BK Häcken in the opening match in the 2023/24 Europa League campaign. A day before his nineteenth birthday, the central defender did not play in the 4-0 win for the Werkself but it was "an incredible night" for him on 21 September 2023 as he explained in his first interview on bayer04.de. "I watched the players and saw the fans. I liked it." It was also the first European night early on in his career. He only joined the then champions of Sweden in the cold north of Europe from his home in Senegal a few weeks before that special moment. Bayer04.de profiles our new defender.
Show moreWelcome, Abdoulaye Faye. The 20-year-old Senegalese central defender joins Leverkusen from top-flight Swedish club BK Häcken. In his first interview he talks about his move to Bayer 04 and his targets with the Werkself.
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