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.
For the second time in four days, Bayer 04 face Borussia Dortmund this Tuesday evening, 2 December (kick-off: 21:00 CET) - this time in the round of 16 of the DFB Pokal, with more than 7,000 fans supporting the Werkself at Signal Iduna Park. After the recent 2-1 defeat to BVB in the league, several cup stats provide hope of revenge for the Black and Reds. There are several reasons why Bayer 04 recommends getting to the round of 16 clash early, in which VAR will be in use, unlike in the previous rounds. Read on for further information on tonight’s game in our matchday news.
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Just three days on from the Bundesliga meeting in Leverkusen, Bayer 04 now visit Borussia Dortmund in the DFB Pokal on Tuesday (21:00 CET). Ahead of the game at the Signal Iduna Park, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about how to approach this second encounter in 72 hours and a number of developments within the squad.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 12 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
Bayer 04 were beaten 2-1 at home by Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 12 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. Although the Werkself had more of the play in the first half, the visitors went ahead through Aaron Anselmino. Karim Adeyemi doubled their advantage after the hour, but Christian Kofane gave Leverkusen late hope, although ultimately to no avail.
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There won’t just be plenty of excitement on the pitch as Bayer 04 host Borussia Dortmund at the BayArena at 18:30 CET on Saturday. Outside the stadium there will be collection points for food donations to the Leverkusen Foodbank, which will also benefit from the profits of a jersey raffle in the Fanwelt afterwards. There will also be a minute’s silence before kick-off following the passing of long-time Werkself player Dieter Herzog, before two fan clubs are honoured for their decades-long support at half-time and fans receive a talk about Orange Day, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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