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.
The Werkself conceded a goal at home for the first time since the beginning of January 67 minutes into the game against FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday. Jarell Quansah levelled late on for the final score of 1-1 to secure a point and avoid a first home defeat in six games. Bayer 04 were very critical of their performance after the game. The Werkself review.
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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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From special edition jerseys to fan banners, the home game against Mainz 05 was all about the many Bayer 04 fan clubs. Accordingly, a fitting tribute to the long-standing Werkself supporters was not to be missed during half-time in the Bundesliga match. Fernando Carro, CEO, honoured the up to 50-year anniversaries of six fan clubs in front of the coaches' benches at the BayArena.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-1 draw against Mainz 05 on Matchday 24 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
A late goal secured a point for Bayer 04 at home to FSV Mainz 05 in a match that saw the Black and Reds dominant in the second half. Despite lots of possession, the Werkself initially found few gaps and fell behind after 67 minutes when Sheraldo Becker scored in a Mainz counter-attack. In the closing stages, Leverkusen threw everything forward once again and equalised through Jarell Quansah (88').
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