The news is out: New Bayer 04 keeper Lennart Grill, signed from third division FC Kaiserslautern, will wear the number 21 shirt. The 21-year-old ‘numerically’ follows midfielder Dominik Kohr who moved on from Bayer 04 to Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer. Before Kohr, central defender Ömer Toprak was the Werkself number 21 for six years. Grill will join his new teammates for the first time on the pitch at the BayArena tonight, 23 July, with the number 21 on his training kit.
Sports journal kicker made a very positive assessment of the former FCK keeper in the second half of the third division campaign and included the new Leverkusen player in the ‘Outstanding’ category in their ranking of German football. After the first half of last season, he was in the second highest category as a ‘prospect’. The kicker assessment: “Possibly the best goalkeeper in the league on the line and the U21 international often kept Kaiserslautern in the game. If he can improve his presence in the box then he could have the potential to play in the Bundesliga.”
The first opponents, derby weekends and much more: The German Football League (DFL) will publish the fixtures for the 2020/21 Bundesliga season on 7 August. The top flight and the second division will kick off on 18 September and the Werkself plus the other 17 teams will end the season on 22 May. The late start to the season is due the suspension of the league last term due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday, DFB president Fritz Keller and the assistant general secretary Heike Ullrich will make the draw for the first round of the DFB Cup. This will be held on Sunday, 26 July, and broadcast live on the ARD programme ‘Sportschau’ from 18.30 CET.
It is possible the ball marked ‘Bayer 04 Leverkusen’ will not face a named opponent at the end of the draw this year – usually there is a lower league team opponent. Due to the suspension of play caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the list of teams for the first round is not yet complete. The majority of the finals in the state cups will be played on 22 August. The DFB Cup ties will be played between 11 and 14 September, a week before the Bundesliga starts.
The Werkself conceded a late goal to suffer the third defeat of the season in Monday night's Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga fixture on matchday ten. Coach Roberto Pätzold's team lost 2-1 at SC Freiburg. Vanessa Fudalla (65’) scored the only goal for Bayer 04 who are now fifth in the table on 19 points.
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Bayer 04 midfielder Ibrahim Maza was honoured in Paris in the Best Algerian Young Player category at the Fennec d'Or awards for the Algerian Footballer of the Year, organised for the first time by the football journal La Gazette du Fennec. "It's an honour for me," said the 19-year-old, delighted with the award.
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On the back of two wins within four days, Bayer 04 Women round off an intensive Bundesliga week in the Black Forest. Roberto Pätzold's side have the chance to move back up to third place against SC Freiburg in the final fixture of Matchday 10 on Monday (18:00 CET) and draw level on points with second-placed VfL Wolfsburg.
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The last international break of this calendar year features the final qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. An overview of who's playing where and when from a Leverkusen point of view.
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