“I feel incredibly at home at this club. When I came to Leverkusen as a young player in 2015, I had the best conditions to develop and become the player I am today. I was able to play in Europe early on in my career with Bayer 04 and also found my way into the national team,” Tah said on extending his deal. “We always had good players, but right now I have the feeling something is developing in Leverkusen. I believe in this team, in this club and see a chance for us to achieve something extraordinary.”
Sporting director Simon Rolfes described Tah’s contract extension as “an important setting of course for a successful future. Jonathan has developed from a talented youngster into a seasoned leader with us. He doesn’t just have a role of responsibility on the pitch, but his word also carries weight off it. Jonathan is multi-talented and very reflective. He can serve as a good example to many of our young players of what it means to become a professional.”
Managing director for sport Rudi Völler considers Tah’s resilience and ambition to be special qualities of the 1.95m defender, in addition to his footballing ability. “After an extremely impressive and consistent start in the Bundesliga, Jonathan has never let isolated setbacks get him down. That’s what sets him apart. Instead, he fought all the more and faced every challenge,” Völler said. “This attitude is exemplary. Jonathan is someone who leads from the front with confidence and who absolutely identifies with Bayer 04 Leverkusen.”
With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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A successful fourth preseason friendly ahead of the start of the training camp: The Werkself secured a 3-0 victory over Rot-Weiss Essen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The goals in what was a commanding and dominant performance by Leverkusen from the outset were scored by Ibrahim Maza (8'), Patrik Schick from the penalty spot (23’) and, in the second half, Montrell Culbreath with a header (79’). The team set off for their training camp in Blankenhain in the Weimarer Land region after the game.
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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 personal 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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You have voted – your ‘Team of the Quarter-Century’ has been decided! This historic selection, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, features honorary captains, Bundesliga champions, double winners and Champions League finalists. Edmond Tapsoba is the only player from the current Bayer 04 squad to make it into the starting XI, while his team-mate Patrik Schick is on the bench. Simon Rolfes, the current managing director sport, is also in the lie-up. A truly special team that brings together a quarter of a century of Bayer 04 history – and has left a decisive mark on the club.
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Following Patrik Schick, Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Kerim Alajbegovic earlier this week, the next World Cup participant is back on the training ground in Leverkusen: On Thursday 30 July, Malik Tillman rejoined the squad, completing his first training session under head coach Carles Martínez.
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