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.
Flap up, screen on: With the help of the new Bayer 04 tactics truck, training content and match action for the Werkself as well as tactical graphics can now be shown and discussed on the training ground.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-1 draw against 1. FC Köln on the 19th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2024/25...
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The Bayer 04 Women shared the points in a 1-1 draw with FC Köln in an entertaining Rhine derby with lots of goalmouth action for both sides. The team led by coach Roberto Pätzold put in a great effort that deserved the three points particularly in the second half. The team next to bottom in the table, who took the lead before half-time, played with great passion and only conceded the equaliser scored by Cornelia Kramer (54') before the final whistle.
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Where were you on 14 April 2024? – That question will probably be asked a lot in Leverkusen today. And can there be anybody in this city who doesn't have an answer to hand? Hard to imagine. That Sunday exactly a year ago was too special. Too big. Too stirring. Too incredible. Everybody will have their own personal memory of that historic day. As everybody was there somehow. Even those who were unfortunately unable to get a ticket for the game of games against Werder Bremen.
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A year as champions of Germany! To mark this momentous achievement, the Champions Week starts today Monday, 14 April, through to Saturday, 19 April, at the Bayer 04 online shop and the Bayer 04 Fanwelt. Black and Red fans can look forward to lots of new articles celebrating winning the title as well as big discounts.
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