
"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.

The Bayer 04 Women clcoked up a 3-2 win in a friendly against Twente Enschede on Thursday afternoon in the last international break of 2025. In drizzle, Lilla Turanyi (16’), Kristin Kögel (65’) and Paulina Bartz (69’) scored the goals for the Werkself against the Dutch Eredivisie Vrouwen leaders, who are still unbeaten in the league.
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Brazilian legends, media and representatives of Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Bayer AG gathered at the Clube de Bayer in the south of São Paulo on Tuesday to take part in a panel discussing the club’s presence in Brazil and to watch the team’s 2–0 win over Manchester City in the Champions League. More than 50 participants from various Brazilian media were on hand. The event also included a light-hearted friendly media game prior to the match against the team of coaching legend Pep Guardiola.
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The annual Black and Red Week is up and running. Day three, Thursday 27 November, includes non-kit supplier merchandise...
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Werkself TV shows highlights of the 2-0 win for Bayer 04 at Manchester City on matchday 5 in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league phase...
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