The international break is over. The three Bayer 04 players Piero Hincapie (Ecuador) plus Lucas Alario and Exequiel Palacios (both Argentina) were involved with their national teams in the night from Thursday to Friday – all three remained unbeaten.
Hincapie celebrated picking up a point in a goalless draw between Ecuador and Colombia, which could prove very important for the outcome of the World Cup qualifiers. La Tri are third after 12 games (17 points) – behind Brazil (31) and Argentina (25). As it stands, Ecuador would qualify directly for the tournament in Qatar.
The gap to the play-off position of fifth, currently occupied by Uruguay, is exactly one point. For Hincapie, who played the full 90 minutes, the clash with Colombia was his ninth full international appearance – and his third game with a clean sheet.
Bayer 04 midfielder Exequiel Palacios made his 14th full international appearance last night. The 23-year-old came off the bench late on to replace Giovanni Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur) in the 1-0 win for Argentina against Peru. It was the seventh victory in the eleven qualifying matches for the Albiceleste. Argentina remain unbeaten in the South America group with seven wins and four draws. Lucas Alario, back in the Argentina squad for the first time since his injury, did not play against Peru.
After being nominated for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025, Martin Terrier's wonderful strike for the opener against FC Köln is now also up for selection for the ARD Sportschau Goal of the Month award for December 2025. Bayer 04 fans have until 19:00 CET on 10 January to vote for the French forward.
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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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"In every ending lies a new beginning" is a well-known saying. This phrase has probably never been more apt at Bayer 04. After winning the Bundesliga in 2023/24 and finishing as runners-up in 2024/25, the summer was the most eventful ever in terms of transfers. Over ten players and the coach, including the coaching staff, left the club. A lot of the heroes of the double-winning side began a new chapter. It was the end of an era. And at the same time the beginning of a new, very exciting and promising chapter for Leverkusen. The Werkself welcomed more than a dozen new arrivals, including experienced title-winners and young talents, to build a new "foundation for a successful team capable of winning titles" under the Bayer Cross, as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. A new spirit, a new hunger, a new story was to be created. Bayer04.de looks back at the first few months of this story and the final act of the preseason.
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43 points at the end of the last Bundesliga season were not only more than ever before for the Bayer 04 Women, but also led to a record fourth-place finish. That was followed by a Hinrunde with many more victories, but also some setbacks. In an interview with bayer04.de, sporting director Achim Feifel takes stock at the end of the year.
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With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.
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