Happy Birthday Mitch. The Dutchman celebrates his 22nd birthday on this Monday 20 June. The defender is currently on holiday after appearing for the Netherlands U21 team that sealed qualification for the European Championships.
Bakker joined Bayer 04 from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2020. The left-back grew up just outside Amsterdam and he joined the renowned Ajax academy at the age of ten. He played for all the youth teams before signing for PSG for the 2019/20 season. He made 30 appearances, scored one goal and provided five assists for Bayer 04 last term.
A great honour: Piero Hincapie has been nominated for the Golden Boy Award 2022. The Werkself defender is one of 22 Bundesliga players selected as candidates for the award. The Werkself number 33 joins last season’s second and third-placed players Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala from the German league. Bayer 04 new signing Adam Hlozek is also on the list.
The Italian sports journal Tuttosport has published a list of Europe’s 100 best U21 players in the middle of June since 2003. This is reduced by 20 players a month until there are 20 in the middle of October. The final assessment is made by 40 journalists from different countries.
The Ecuadorian is currently leading on 57 per cent. Black and Red supporters can vote for Hincapie HERE.
Don’t forget: The Black and Reds, in partnership with JAKO, launched a recycling campaign on Friday 17 June. Old football shirts, regardless of type, can be dropped off at the Bayer 04 fan shop in Wiesdorf up to Friday 24 June. As a thank you, all participants will receive a 25% discount voucher for the JAKO online store. Under the heading ‘Recycled Polyester’, the focus is on sustainable recycling management in textile production.
JAKO will deliver the recycled clothing to a start-up business in Aachen, which produces new textile granulate using a new recycling process and thereby creates the basis for new sportswear.
Rudi Völler was on the Bild live stream programme ‘Lage der Liga’ on Sunday morning (19 June). In a one-hour broadcast, the 62-year-old talked about a possible move by Mario Götze to Eintracht Frankfurt as well as Bayern Munich and the transfer rumours surrounding Robert Lewandowski.
The broadcast is available in full HERE.
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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Bayer 04 Women finish 2025 with the first game of the second half of the Google Pixel Bundesliga season as they host defending champions and league leaders Bayern Munich at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Monday. Kick-off is at 18:00 CET. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 14 encounter.
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The Werkself may have the festive season off, but four players will still be in action as they compete at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. Eliesse Ben Seghir will open the 35th edition of the tournament with hosts Morocco on Sunday, 21 December. Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso), Ibrahim Maza (Algeria) and Christian Kofane (Cameroon) are also going for continental glory.
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The media wanted to know if Malik Tillman had thought back in September and the team’s indifferent start to the season that they would go into the winter break in third place with 29 points from 15 games. His answer was short and clear: “Honestly, yes, because I simply believe in this team.” That team had just won 3-1 at RB Leipzig, who hadn’t dropped a single point at home previously this season. Here’s all the round-up from the game in our Werkself Review.
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