Last Wednesday, Bayer 04 signed right-back Jeremie Frimpong from Scottish champions Celtic. The 20-year-old has now completed the compulsory period of self-isolation after arriving in Germany and yesterday he trained for the first time with the Werkself. Whether or not the Dutch U21 international will be in the squad for the first time, after just the second training session on Monday, for the DFB Cup tie against Rot-Weiss Essen was left unanswered by head coach Peter Bosz at the pre-match press conference.
By the way: Not only is the number 30 shirt with Frimpong printing immediately available online at the web shop, but also the shirts of Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Demarai Gray who is our number 28.
This cup tie is special for Cedric Harenbrock. He was in the Werkself youth set-up for nine years before joining Rot-Weiss Essen in 2017. "The connection to Bayer 04 is still strong," said the 22-year-old to Kicker. "I have a lot to thank the club for."
While he was at Leverkusen as a U17 player, he made the step up to the Germany U17s and he also trained with the first team several times in 2016/17. He had to be patient when he signed for Essen in 2017. The development of the Wuppertal-born youngster was brought to a halt by two torn cruciate injuries. Then came the comeback in October 2020. Since then, Harenbrock has secured a place in the Red and White midfield and his five goals and five assists have played a big part in Essen flying high in the Regional League West.
Amara Conde is waiting for his first appearance in the DFB Cup but that could come on Tuesday night at the Hafenstraße ground – and against the club he started at. Amara went through the ranks at Kurtekotten. He played alongside Benjamin Henrichs in a number of the youth teams from 2006 to 2012. From there, the midfielder went to VfL Wolfsburg and Holstein Kiel before joining Rot-Weiss Essen in the summer of 2019.
There is huge respect at Rot-Weiss Essen for Bayer 04. That was revealed by striker Simon Engelmann to Kicker: "Other draws would definitely have been easier than Bayer Leverkusen." The RWE director Marcus Uhlig then tried to qualify the statement somewhat: "It wasn't the case that we were annoyed by the draw for days and days." However, coach Christian Neidhart made no secret that they did hope for a different opponent. "The cup is for providing upsets and earning money. We've done that. We definitely would not have wished for such a strong opponent," Neidhart revealed to SID sports information service.
Bayer 04 legend Juan is 42 on Tuesday. He played for the Werkself from 2002 to 2007, making 176 appearances (16 goals, seven assists). The Brazilian only ended his playing career in the summer of 2019 – when he was at Flamengo Rio de Janeiro where he had also started on professional terms. Former Bayer 04 defender Sebastian Boenisch (34), under the Buyer Cross from 2012 to 2016, is also celebrating his birthday as is Burak Kaplan (31). The home-grown Leverkusen youngster played for the Black and Reds from 1997 to 2011 (including loans) and after leaving he went on to play for Besiktas and KFC Uerdingen. Happy birthday to all three.
Of all things, a goal against the Werkself has been voted Goal of the Year 2020. In the vote for the ARD Sportschau, the Borussia Mönchengladbach player Valentino Lazaro beat ten other nominees with his scorpion kick at the BayArena on 8 November 2020. Over 115,000 viewers, making up 35 per cent, voted for the midfielder. It is more bearable from a Bayer 04 perspective as the game ended in a 4-3 win for the Werkself. Congratulations go to Gladbach.
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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"In every ending lies a new beginning" is a well-known saying. This phrase has probably never been more apt at Bayer 04. After winning the Bundesliga in 2023/24 and finishing as runners-up in 2024/25, the summer was the most eventful ever in terms of transfers. Over ten players and the coach, including the coaching staff, left the club. A lot of the heroes of the double-winning side began a new chapter. It was the end of an era. And at the same time the beginning of a new, very exciting and promising chapter for Leverkusen. The Werkself welcomed more than a dozen new arrivals, including experienced title-winners and young talents, to build a new "foundation for a successful team capable of winning titles" under the Bayer Cross, as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. A new spirit, a new hunger, a new story was to be created. Bayer04.de looks back at the first few months of this story and the final act of the preseason.
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43 points at the end of the last Bundesliga season were not only more than ever before for the Bayer 04 Women, but also led to a record fourth-place finish. That was followed by a Hinrunde with many more victories, but also some setbacks. In an interview with bayer04.de, sporting director Achim Feifel takes stock at the end of the year.
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With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.
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A record-breaking year ends for the Bayer 04 Women. Fourth place, 13 wins and 43 points in the 2024/25 campaign - the Werkself have never been so good in the Bundesliga. Coach Roberto Pätzold's team also had plenty of reasons to celebrate in the first half of the new Bundesliga season - although there were also a few disappointments. A look back at 2025 for the Bayer 04 Women’s team.
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