A sekt reception, live music and a room with a fireplace as the setting: The gala event in the hall of mirrors at Schloss Morsbroich was a fitting stage for the presentation for the outstanding athletes from Leverkusen and surroundings in 2022. "It fills us with pride to have so many top male and female athletes together here in Leverkusen. The concentration of quality is almost unique in Germany," declared Leverkusen's mayor Uwe Richrath.
The Werkself player Exequiel Palacios was accompanied by his father and brother, teammate Florian Wirtz by his sisters. Lisanne Gräwe arrived with the Bayer 04 players and Florian Wirtz’ sister Juliane Wirtz - a teammate of Gräwe in the Leverkusen Women's team. Both Wirtz and Gräwe received the Fritz Walter gold medal last November while Palacios won the World Cup with Argentina just before Christmas.
The welcome address from mayor Richrath was followed by interviews on stage with the athletes present including Leverkusen-born WIBF world champion Dilar Kisikyol and the Paralympian rower Marc Lembeck.
The athletes of the the Werkself were joined at Schloss Morsbroich by Fernando Carro, chairman of the board at Bayer 04. The Spaniard said: "The City of Leverkusen is a very important partner for us. Being entered in the Golden Book is a very special honour and shows the close connection between Bayer 04 and the City of Leverkusen."
The final part of the interviews brought the Bayer 04 trio onto the stage with a short conversation followed by the highlight of the evening for Palacios, Gräwe and Wirtz: Being entered in the Golden Book. The Werkself player Florian Wirtz explained: "There are lots of great athletes here and there were some very interesting discussions."
Group photos, autographs and a joint evening meal rounded off the event.
Bayer 04 have fond memories of their encounters with Heidenheim, including a resounding 6-0 win in the reverse fixture. Kasper Hjulmand’s side would very much like to produce a similarly clinical display as they now head to the Voith-Arena for Matchday 27 on Saturday (15:30 CET). But they come up against a team fighting for their Bundesliga lives at the bottom of the table, 10 points adrift of safety with time running out. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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The Bayer 04 Women welcome FC Carl Zeiss Jena to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday night in a white retro look - and in a unique Bayer 04 ‘50 Years of Fan Clubs’ special edition jersey. In sporting terms, head coach Roberto Pätzold's team will face the Bundesliga's bottom team at 18:30 CET looking to keep their chances of third place in the table alive with six games left to play.
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Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action this weekend. Following their elimination in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, the Werkself are away to FC Heidenheim 1846 on Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET) on Bundesliga matchday 27. Ahead of the clash in the eastern Swabian Alps, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the fixture and the chances of qualifying for the Champions League next term.
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A quick look at the table shows the situation at FC Heidenheim is serious. The Bundesliga bottom club are already ten points behind the play-off spot with their backs to the wall in sporting terms. With eight games left to play, avoiding relegation appears to be a mission impossible. Nevertheless, they are far from flying the white flag at the Schlossberg ahead of the clash with the Werkself this Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without the two strikers in the immediate future. Caroline Kehrer suffered a torn ligament in her right knee and Amy Wrigge tore her cruciate ligament.
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