"I'm assuming he will be able to play tomorrow," said head coach Heiko Herrlich referring to his captain. The same applies to Lukas Hradecky who has served a one-match ban for picking up two yellow cards in the Europa League qualifier on 6 August 2015 when he was playing for Bröndby IF. The 28-year-old shot-stopper and Bayer 04 received the surprise news in the past few days. "We received an e-mail from UEFA last week where they confirmed the suspension has now lapsed and that I can play tomorrow," said Hradecky before departure .
After two and a half hours, around 16.00 local time, the Werkself charter plane landed at the airport in Varna. The squad then travelled on the team bus to their hotel in Rasgrad, which is a ten-minute drive away from the Ludogarets Arena.
This evening brings the usual pre-match press conference and final training session ahead of the Europa League opener against Ludogorets Rasgrad (20 September, 21.00 CET).
A special surprise: during the preview for the 'Fierté Burkinabè' documentary about Edmond Tapsoba, Bayer 04 directors Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes announced Tapsoba's contract extension until 2031 together with the centre-back. He then spoke to Werkself-TV about his time in Leverkusen so far and future ambitions...
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This evening was deeply moving: At a really special setting, Bayer 04 exclusively presented the specially produced documentary ‘Fierté Burkinabè’ ("Burkinabe Pride") about Edmond Tapsoba on Tuesday. For the preview at the BayArena, the parents of the Werkself player and other close companions travelled all the way from his African homeland Burkina Faso. The 45-minute film shows Tapsoba's extraordinary career from his beginnings in Ouagadougou to Leverkusen as well as the work of his foundation "Fondation Edmond Tapsoba", with representatives from Burkina Faso also present. Fans can watch the documentary free of charge on Werkself TV and YouTube from Wednesday night at 20:00 CEST.
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Bayer 04 have signed left-back Carolin Simon from champions Bayern Munich for the coming season. The 33-year-old former Germany international, who played for Leverkusen from 2013 to 2016, has signed a contract to 30 June 2028.
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Bayer 04 Women have strengthened for the coming season with the signing of Lobke Loone. The 23-year-old Dutch striker joins from Utrecht on a contract until 30 June 2028.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-1 win against SC Freiburg on the 23rd matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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