News in brief: Bakker nominated, Amiri helps and Meijer arrives

It’s just reward for a brilliant start. Mitchel Bakker has only played three games in the Bundesliga and one cup tie but he is now an established member of head coach Gerardo Seoane’s team. The many good performances by our number 5 on the left wing have also come to the attention of the German Football League (DFL). Mitchel Bakker has now been nominated as ‘Rookie of the Month’ for August. The vote is presented by AWS, the technology provider for the Bundesliga.

VOTE closes on thursday

Bakker is joined by two Leipzig players: the defender Mohamed Simakan and the midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai. You can vote for the Werkself defender here. The vote is open until Thursday, 9 September, 23.59 CEST.

Amiri supports refugees from Afghanistan

It’s an important cause for him: Nadiem Amiri is working together with the DFB and their Egidius Braun Foundation to help Afghan refugees. The 24-year-old visited accommodation for refugee families, mostly from Afghanistan, in Stuttgart at the end of last week and invited them to Germany’s game against Armenia.

“As a German with Afghan roots I have closely followed recent events in Afghanistan,” said Amiri, whose parents fled to Germany before he was born. “There were no doubts for me about supporting these people as much as possible. I’m aware of the privileged life I lead in Germany.” He is happy, “we were able to organise an event for the families along with our partners so that all the people from the accommodation could get some distraction in these difficult times.” It’s particularly important to, “that the whole thing becomes a long-term partnership between all sides.”

Paulo Sergio on Paulinho

He has a very complicated season behind him. Paulinho suffered a torn cruciate in the build-up to the 2020 cup final. He ended up battling for months to make his comeback and he was back on the pitch for the Werkself in the final Bundesliga game in the 2020/21 season. The 21-year-old went on to win a gold medal for his country at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and he played in all three Bundesliga games to date this term. A fellow countryman and Bayer 04 legend is convinced Paulinho will get off to a flying start this season.

Paulo Sergio, who scored 62 goals in 149 Bundesliga games for the Werkself between 1993 and 1997, said to the BILD newspaper: “He needs to be patient because of the many injuries but hopefully he will soon be on the way up again. The gold medal was important and it will give him a boost.” In Brazil they are expecting “him to have a great career.”

Erik Meijer: Finisher in Roth

Hats off, Erik Meijer. The former Bayer 04 striker – who scored 21 goals for the Black and Reds in 106 games between 1996 and 1999 – completed his first triathlon over long-distance on Sunday. The 52-year-old completed the Challenge Roth after swimming for 3.8 kilometres, cycling for 170 kilometres and running for 42 kilometres in a total time of 11 hours three minutes and 32 seconds. “Football is a team sport but you are on your own with triathlon and you need lots of discipline. That brought me over the finishing line. I’m very proud of that,” said Meijer, who has worked as a pundit on Sky for years.

Meijer actually wanted to take the challenge for his 50^th birthday but coronavirus intervened. Now it has worked out in Roth. In his usual relaxed manner, Meijer ended by saying: “The race was awful. It was long, I hate the canal and it was a great day.”

Holger Fach's birthday

Although he was born and brought up in Wuppertal and played for Bayer Wuppertal in the youth teams, Holger Fach and Bayer 04 came together really late. After being in the Bundesliga at Fortuna Düsseldorf, Bayer 05 Uerdingen and Borussia Mönchengladbach, the former international joined Leverkusen as 32-year-old. He was the sweeper in 39 games and he reached the semi-final stage of the DFB Cup in 1996 and he played in the legendary ‘relegation final’ against FC Kaiserslautern. After just one season, he went out on loan to Fortuna Düsseldorf and he then signed for 1860 Munich. At the end of his playing career he worked as a coach and sporting director and in 2012 he overcame lung cancer. Holger Fach is 59 years old today (Monday), and Bayer 04 sends warm congratulations.