Players coming back from injury are making progress: Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who wasn't on the pitch yesterday, completed the majority of drills with his teammates on Tuesday. And Amine Adli, who was working with the ball on his own at the start of the week, also completed one or two drills under head coach Gerardo Seoane.
In addition, Piero Hincapie returned to Germany from South America on Tuesday. The 19-year-old Ecuador international tested positive for Covid-19 over Christmas and then had to self-isolate in his home country. A decision will be taken in the next few days over his inclusion in the squad for the game against Union Berlin on Saturday, 8 January.
There is a new Black and Red video on YouTube that is guaranteed to raise a smile. The Werkself players Jonathan Tah and Nadiem Amiri try in a TWO FACE riddle to work out as quickly as possible the identity of two stars that are merged together in one photo. Who is quicker? And who were Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Zinedine Zidane and Rapper Drake merged with? HERE is the video.
Odilon Kossounou had already gained experience as a professional footballer in different countries on his way to Leverkusen: The defender moved from his home country of Ivory Coast to Sweden in January 2019. FC Brugge soon became aware of the tall Ivorian and tempted him to Belgium after six months. Kossounou stayed with the top club from the neighbouring country for two years before following the call from the Werkself in the summer.
He has made 20 appearances for the Black and Reds to date. He is spending his 21st birthday today in his home country where he was preparing with the Ivory Coast national team for the African Cup of Nations due to start in a few days. Many happy returns and good luck.
The second birthday boy of the day, Toni Kroos, no longer plays for the Black and Reds. In his 18 months on loan under the Bayer Cross, the Greifswald-born midfielder laid the foundations for his career as a world-class player. Having arrived from Bayern Munich in January 2009, the playmaker made 43 appearances for the Werkself in the Bundesliga (10 goals, 13 assists).
After returning to FC Bayern, Kroos was champion of Germany and also DFB Cup winner three times each. In 2014, in the year of his move to Real Madrid, he won the World Championship title with Germany. Kroos won the Champions League for the second, third and fourth time with the Spanish club and also picked up numerous national titles. The former Leverkusen today celebrates his 32nd birthday. Many happy returns and here's to many more successful years, Toni.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-0 win at SGS Essen on the 24th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
Show more
Bayer 04 put in a brilliant performance to beat RB Leipzig 4-1 on Bundesliga matchday 32 and are now fourth in a Champions League spot. The Black and Reds took control of the game right from the start and, with 75 per cent possession at one stage, took a 2-0 lead into the break through Patrik Schick (25’) and Nathan Tella (45+1’). The visitors initially tried to do more after the break, but the Werkself remained determined and Schick scored his second goal to increase the lead to 3-0 (76'). The Red Bulls pulled a goal back through Christoph Baumgartner (80'), but the disciplined Leverkusen side were not rattled - and certainly not Schick: The Czechia international crowned a brilliant display with his third goal shortly before the final whistle to make the final score 4-1.
Show more
In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
Show more
Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
Show more
