We didn’t start the New Year well. Of course, we can’t be happy even though we did qualify for the Round of 16 in the cup with the win against Eintracht Frankfurt the week before. One point from the last four Bundesliga games does not live up to our expectations – in spite of strong opponents.
We’re facing one of them today as well. You don’t have to describe Borussia Dortmund’s qualities as they are well-known. But so are our’s. Although we haven’t picked up the points, we have shown a positive trend in the last two games. The first half at Union Berlin was worthy of a top team. The only thing missing was a goal.
We want to do better against BVB. Despite the recent setbacks, a good result could see us move on up. This special season shows that the clubs involved in Europe have to pay the price for a very demanding fixture schedule. That all applies on each and every matchday. The race is a long way from being over.
A word on the events in Berlin on Friday night. It’s always been the case that there can be verbal rough and tumble on the pitch at times. When I was playing, incidents like that were mostly forgotten by the end of the game. Things stayed on the pitch when you shook hands. But these days the players involved and the public are more sensitive. So whoever goes beyond the mark has to live with the consequences. Nevertheless, I believe that a sincere apology means you can deal with an issue in a conciliatory way.
Best wishes, Rudi Völler
Two keepers, lots of questions: Werkself captain Lukas Hradecky and U19 goalkeeper Jesper Schlich visited the BarmeniaGothaer children’s press conference in partnership with the Bayer 04 Lions Club on Wednesday afternoon. The duo faced interesting and at times unusual questions from around 50 inquisitive young journalists in the press conference room at the BayArena.
Show moreA large number of sporting directors and officials from big clubs across Europe came to the BayArena on Tuesday for the second seminar in the UEFA Sporting Director Programme (SDP) in cooperation with the ECA.
Show moreFull-back Janou Levels will leave Bayer 04 Leverkusen at the end of the season. The 24-year-old has activated her release clause and she will join Bundesliga rivals VfL Wolfsburg. She has signed a three-year contract.
Show moreAfter returning from Hamburg and a day off on Easter Monday, the Werkself players were back on the training ground at the BayArena on Tuesday morning. Following the session, Amine Adli was very positive in a media interview about the remaining four matches including the forthcoming home game against FC Augsburg (Saturday, 26 April, 15:30 CEST): "We will give our all to end the season as well as we can!"
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