With two and a half weeks to go until the end of the season in Germany's top flight, the DFL, with the support of the video game producer Electronic Arts (EA), has launched the vote for the Team of the Season. Based on official match data from the Bundesliga, the 40 players nominated have all impressed this season. That includes a quintet from Bayer 04 made up of Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, Moussa Diaby, Kerem Demirbay and Patrik Schick.
The vote opened on this Wednesday evening at 19.00 CEST and runs to Sunday 1 May (19.00 CEST). The announcement of the final Team of the Season will be made on Friday 13 May. And the Player of the Season will be announced three days later. This will be decided by votes from the fans for the Team of the Season plus club and pundit votes.
You can vote for the Werkself players here.
A panel will decide which eleven players end up in the team of the season. This is made up of pundits (30% of the vote), Bundesliga legends and selected media partners. In addition, the votes from the fans have a 40% share and 30% is made by the team captains of the 18 Bundesliga clubs.
The eleven best players will be part of the Bundesliga Team of the Season and they will have significantly better values on FIFA 22.
The facial expression fitted in with the beaming sunshine over Leverkusen: The first training session of the week saw Jeremie Frimpong return to the pitch by the BayArena – in football boots and a good mood as usual. While his teammates worked out under head coach Gerardo Seoane, the right-back first greeted all the staff members next to the pitch, had a brief exchange with sporting director Simon Rolfes and then began his individual training routine with fitness coach Daniel Jouvin. That involved passing and sprinting drills.
"His training today was part of the rehab," said head coach Gerardo Seoane after the session. "But he is making good progress so we decided in discussion with the medical staff to bring the player on a bit quicker. It would be desirable for him to have a clean bill of health before the summer break. That would definitely feel good for him."
The 21-year-old Dutchman suffered an ankle injury in the 1-0 home defeat to FC Köln on 13 March. Frimpong underwent a successful operation a few days later under Dr André Morawe at the Aptos Orthoparc clinic in Cologne.
After Lars and Sven Bender risked their necks fighting for Bayer 04 for many years the twins retired from professional football last summer. They enjoy great respect as before in and around Leverkusen thanks to their undying commitment and there permanently honest approach. Reason enough to celebrate the two former Germany internationals on their 33rd birthdays with a review of some of their most successful and emotional moments.
In addition to numerous videos and photos on the social media channels, the new Bayer 04 app features an exciting Bender special of the 11 quiz with interesting questions for Lars and Sven. Test out your knowledge. If you don't have the new app yet, you can download it here.
The former Werkself head coach Roger Schmidt will take over the helm at Benfica. The top Portuguese club today confirmed "fundamental agreement on the appointment," with just formalities left to clear up.
The 55-year-old German coach, in the Leverkusen dugout from July 2014 to March 2017, announced in the middle of February that he would be leaving the top Dutch team PSV Eindhoven at the end of the season. Schmidt takes over from Nelson Verissimo in Lisbon.
It is 35 years ago since a certain Knut Reinhardt joined the Werkself at the tender age of nine. Coming from TuS 05 Quettingen, the midfielder remained under the Bayer Cross for an impressive 14 years and he won the UEFA Cup with the senior team in 1988. The home-grown Leverkusen player moved on to Borussia Dortmund three years after the big win. Reinhardt opted for an unusual path after ending his career as a player in 2001. He became a teacher and is now working at a school in Dortmund. The Hilden-born player today celebrates his 54th birthday – many happy returns from Bayer 04.
At the end of the winter training camp in Portugal, the Bayer 04 Women convincingly mastered their friendly ahead of the start of the second half of the season. In the match against Swiss league leaders Servette FCCF, coach Roberto Pätzold's team won 3-0 at the Monte Gordo Sports Complex. Carlotta Wamser (4’), Vanessa Fudalla (18’) and Loreen Bender (53’) scored for Bayer 04, who have been preparing for the Rückrunde in the Algarve since last Saturday.
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In the first episode of the new interview series "A New Chapter", Werkself defender Jarell Quansah reflects on his first few months under the Cross and speaks about his journey from England to Leverkusen. Having come through the ranks at Liverpool, a new chapter began for Quansah in the summer at Bayer 04 — with new objectives, fresh challenges and much ambition. In the video, the centre-back speaks about his development as a player and person, about the courage to leave your own comfort zone, and about what it means for him to be part of an international team in a different country. Honest, reflective and full of motivation — just like the start of his Werkself career.
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Full focus on Hoffenheim: after the late postponement of the away match at Hamburger SV, the Werkself are looking forward. To get themselves in top shape for the key clash at top-six rivals TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday 17 January (kick-off 15:30 CET), a number of players showed full commitment even on a day off - including two AFCON returnees...
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After Rio de Janeiro, it's off to Thuringia: This summer, Bayer 04 Leverkusen will prepare for the 2026/27 football season in Germany. While Brazil was the destination last year, the Werkself will now set up their training camp in Blankenhain, just outside Erfurt, from 1 to 7 August 2026.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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