
"Kai Havertz voted into second place is in my opinion deserved and no surprise. He has a lot of potential, enjoyment playing the game and ambition," praised Germany coach Jogi Löw. "We want to see him succeed in the national team. It gives me great pleasure to work with the two players (Reus and Havertz, ed.) in continuing our rebuilding and development of the team."
Michael Ballack was the only Werkself player to date to win the title of Footballer of the Year in 2002. Back then, Ballack was in the Bayer 04 team that reached the Champions League final and he also led Germany to the World Cup final.
The vote for the Footballer of the Year has been organised by the sports magazine Kicker since 1960 amongst members of the German Sports Journalists Association (VDS). 550 valid votes were cast in the 2019 ballot.

Two Saturdays, one Friday and one Sunday: The dates for the Bayer 04 Women's team games on matchdays 16 to 19 have been finalised. Three of the four matches scheduled by the German Football Association (DFB) on Tuesday will be played at home at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Bayer 04 Women finish 2025 with the first game of the second half of the Google Pixel Bundesliga season as they host defending champions and league leaders Bayern Munich at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Monday. Kick-off is at 18:00 CET. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 14 encounter.
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The Werkself may have the festive season off, but four players will still be in action as they compete at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. Eliesse Ben Seghir will open the 35th edition of the tournament with hosts Morocco on Sunday, 21 December. Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso), Ibrahim Maza (Algeria) and Christian Kofane (Cameroon) are also going for continental glory.
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