Piero Hincapie starts the qualification games from a Black and Red perspective. Ecuador entertain table-toppers Brazil on Thursday, 27 January (kick-off: 22.00 CET). They then face Peru six days later (2 February, 03.00 CET).
The Werkself player and his fellow countrymen are currently third in the South American World Cup qualification group with a six-point lead over Colombia in fourth. The top four places ensure qualification for the tournament in Qatar. The fifth-placed team goes into the play-offs.
Hincapie’s teammate Charles Aránguiz and Chile are up against second-placed Argentina – this time without Leverkusen players Lucas Alario and Exequiel Palacios. That match is on Friday, 28 January, at 01.15 CET. Aránguiz and Co. then play Bolivia on 1 February (kick-off: 21.00 CET).
Chile are currently sixth in the South American group and just one point behind the teams in fourth and fifth. There are still four games to play – so it is still possible for them to qualify for the World Cup finals.
Upcoming international fixtures:
Piero Hincapie (Ecuador)
Thursday, 27 January (22 .00 CET): Ecuador vs Brazil
Wednesday, 2 February (03.00 CET): Peru vs Ecuador
Charles Aránguiz (Chile)
Friday, 28 January (01.15 CET): Chile vs Argentina
Tuesday, 1 February (21.00 CET): Bolivia vs Chile
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.
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