The new summer signing Kerem Demirbay should know his way round the Rhineland. Four years ago, the then 21-year-old played for second division Fortuna Düsseldorf – on loan from Hamburg SV. The central midfielder established himself in the starting eleven of our Rhine neighbours from 30 kilometres away and he scored an important goal in the relegation battle that helped prevent Fortuna dropping down into the third tier. With his ability to score (10 goals in 25 league games) and vision, the pacesetter was capable of much more: And in the summer of 2016 the Bundesliga club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim came calling. The 1.82 metre tall, free-kick and corner specialist has scored 12 goals (as at 8 May 2019) for TSG in 86 matches (including 71 in the Bundesliga).
The roots of the son of parents of Turkish origin, who describes himself "as more of a serious character", are in the Ruhr region: Kerem Demirbay was born in Herten on 3 July 1993 and he grew up in the Buer district of Gelsenkirchen. The team player received his football training and education in the youth sections at FC Schalke, SG Wattenscheid and Borussia Dortmund before moving north to Hamburg SV for the 2013/14 campaign after a season in the Third Division (for the Dortmund second team). He made his Bundesliga debut for HSV (20 April 2014) but the Turkey youth international suffered repeated injuries. At least in the beginning. Kerem Demirbay went out on loan and tried his luck in the second tier of German professional football – with one season each at Kaiserslautern and Düsseldorf. And, as often happens in football, the supposed step back turned out to be a step forwards for the left footer.
At Hoffenheim, the married family man, whose son was born in March of last year in Neuss, finally made the breakthrough at national level in the last three seasons. Under Julian Nagelsmann he developed into a first choice on the team sheet and a leader on the pitch. According to the sports magazine kicker, Demirbay has the best marks in the Bundesliga this season.
The new Werkself number 26 also has experience on the European stage in the Champions League (five games) and in the Europa League (four games). And he has also been a winner with Germany (two caps) – alongside Julian Brandt, Bernd Leno and Benny Henrichs – at the Confederations Cup in Russia in 2017.
The penultimate Bundesliga matchday of the calendar year marks the end of an eventful first half of the season for the Bayer 04 Women. After seven wins, one draw and four defeats from the first twelve games of the season, coach Roberto Pätzold's team can go above Werder Bremen in the table with a win on Friday, 12 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET).
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The third showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 kicks off for the Leverkusen eSports team this Thursday, 11 December (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Red will once again take on six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round, which will take place at this third showdown on 19 December in Cologne. Showdown One winners Bayer 04 will face FC St. Pauli, who won the second showdown last month, among others. The lowdown on first three opponents in this online preliminary round.
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Alejandro Grimaldo, of course! With his late equaliser (88') in the Champions League clash against Newcastle United, the Spaniard rescued a point for the Werkself, who took the lead through an own goal by Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes (13') but went with two goals for the visitors scored by Anthony Gordon (51') and Lewis Miley (74'). It was the third draw for Bayer 04 in the current 2025/26 campaign on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase.
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The Werkself will be looking to continue their run in the Champions League against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 21:00 CET). The two victories without conceding a goal at Benfica (1:0) and Manchester City (2-0) will hopefully be followed by a win at home at the BayArena. Against the English side, who have a player with a Black and Red past in their ranks, the way to victory could be through efficiency in attack and quick transitional play. The latter in particular has recently caused the Magpies problems away from home on the European stage. Fans can also get the stylish matchday sticker for their Sound of Dreams tour pass at the Bayer 04 Fanwelt. The matchday news.
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For the first time ever, Bayer 04 have reached the knockout phase of the UEFA Youth League. At the end of the league phase, the Leverkusen U19s secured a 2-1 home win against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December. Montrell Culbreath scored before half-time and Ferdinand Pohl doubled the lead after the restart in the clash with the English side. The UCL youth competition continues at the beginning of February with the Round of 32, which will be played away from home without a second leg.
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