True to the club motto 'The other family', the general meeting of the TSV Bayer 04 football section was held at the media centre at the BayArena on Monday night. In a repeat of last year, there were no elections in 2019. Linda Schöttler (Women), Friedhelm Renno (Senior Committee), Dirk Dreher (Veterans team) and Roman Klossek (Youth) plus Jürgen Gelsdorf, chair of the football section, were only elected two years ago.
After a welcome from Jürgen Gelsdorf, the Bayer 04 members who passed away in the last 12 months were remembered. That was followed by honours for those members who have been with TSV Bayer 04 for 25 years or more. Honoured for 25 years of Bayer 04 membership: Berthold Verhees, Horst Stollenwerk, Vladimir Kadlec and Wolfgang Jedwabny. The following have completed 40 years of membership: Reiner Moschall, Clemens Peters plus Klaus Herbertz. The only one celebrating 50 years of membership on the night was Johann 'Hans' Zimmermann. All those honoured were presented with a Bayer 04 shirt with their name on the back.
The club management on the top table then presented a review of the year on the pitch. Linda Schöttler started by highlighting the main target of the Bayer 04 Women this season: to stay in the Allianz Women's Bundesliga. Dirk Dreher looked at the forthcoming events involving the Bayer 04 Veterans and announced to the members that the former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling will be part of the team for the first time this year.
And Fernando Carro, chairman of the board of Bayer 04 Fußball GmbH, did not miss out on the chance to attend the general meeting for the first time and say a few words to the assembled members. Carro focused on the current situation for the Werkself in the Bundesliga and the ambition to be back on the European stage next season. The Spaniard by birth always strives to set himself ambitious targets – And Fernando Carro and the Bayer 04 members at the media centre were unanimous in one desire: "This club deserves titles!"
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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