Experts, club representatives and fans have voted Havertz 'EA SPORTS Player of the Month' for May for his impressive performances for the Werkself in the Bundesliga. The 20-year-old received the trophy at the BayArena at the beginning of the week. "For me, the success of the team comes first. But, of course, you're happy to accept awards like this. It's good feedback that shows you've played well in that month," said Havertz.
The Werkself player scored five goals in the first four league games after the restart and was voted for ahead of Achraf Hakimi (Borussia Dortmund), Christoph Baumgartner (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Timo Werner (RB Leipzig) plus Joshua Kimmich and Benjamin Pavard (both FC Bayern).
Central striker Lucas Alario, who started all of the last three matches and scored two goals, is not in the squad for tomorrow's game against FC Köln (kick-off: 20.30 CET). The Argentinian received a fifth yellow card for the season in the away game at Schalke 04 (1-1) and is therefore sidelined for the Rhineland clash.
After his move from SV Grün-Weiß Brauweiler, Florian Wirtz played for the youth teams at FC Köln for ten years where he also became a Germany youth international. Last winter, the Puhlheim-born player finally opted for a move to Bayer 04. Peter Bosz quickly brought him into the first-team squad – and ensured that Wirtz could make his Bundesliga debut. The rest is history: At the age of 17 years and 15 days the Werkself whippersnapper was the third youngest player in the history of Germany's top flight. Thanks to his goal against FC Bayern, the forward can also claim to be "the youngest Bundesliga goalscorer of all time."
Ahead of the first clash with his former club, FC Köln sporting director Horst Heldt shared his views on Wirtz. "I'm happy for Florian and I assume he will play. He will definitely want to show what he can do. We wish him all the best for the future," said the 50-year-old who added with a wink of the eye: "If he thinks he has to perform well against us then he'll get a kick up the behind."
Good news from the Bailey household: The 22-year-old and his partner welcomed their son Leo into the world on Sunday morning. All three are happy and healthy. The Jamaican left his homeland in 2011 for Austria and, via Slovakia and Belgium, he joined Bayer 04 in January 2017. He has played for the Black and Reds ever since. Congratulations, Leon!
The DFB has confirmed timings for the final matchdays for the Bayer 04 Women in the FLYERALARM Women's Bundesliga. Tomorrow's away game at bottom-of-the-table FF USV Jena (kick-off: 15.00 CET) is followed on Sunday, 21 June, by a crucial clash at Kurtekotten in the relegation battle. The Black and Reds entertain the FC Köln women's team. The team from Cologne currently have one more point. Both teams are just above the position currently held by MSV Duisburg – who are level on points with Achim Feifel's team – in the first of the two relegation spots.
On the final matchday, the Bayer 04 Women are away to the serial champions VfL Wolfsburg who, in all probability, are set to secure their sixth league title in succession this week. The kick-off in the final league game of the season on Sunday, 28 June, is at 14.00 CET at the AOK Stadium. All matches are played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fitness coach Daniel Jouvin has worked under the Bayer Cross for nine years. 'Giga', as he's known, is anything but a giant physically with his height of 1.65 metres, but his quality as a fitness and rehab coach puts him amongst the very best in the business. Back in his home country Brazil, Jouvin trained with famous doctors and physiotherapists and he also worked for a big club Flamengo Rio de Janeiro and the Brazil national team. The South American originally came to Bayer 04 as the personal fitness coach of Renato Augusto. He quickly extended his repertoire to the whole team; as fitness coach but also as a contact and help with integration for the South Americans in the squad. 'Giga' is 42 today. Bayer 04 wishes him: Many happy returns!
For the third time in a row, the Leverkusen eSports players have made it through to the final round of the VBL Club Championship. From 7 to 8 March, they will compete for the German Club Championship at XPERION in Hamburg. At the start of the final round, they face Hamburger SV in the Round of 16. The match starts at 19:30 CET on Saturday, 7 March and will be broadcast live on the VBL Twitch channel. The eSports preview.
Show more
"We played with pace and patience today. That was the decisive factor," said managing director sport Simon Rolfes following the 1-0 win at Hamburger SV in the rearranged match on Wednesday night. Although the Werkself still had room for improvement in terms of capitalising on their chances against the Red Shorts, they produced a different display to last time out and were rewarded for a concentrated performance over 90 minutes. The Werkself review features reaction to the game, including from a happy starting XI debutant, as well as the match stats.
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-0 win in rearranged match at Hamburger SV on Matchday 17 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
Show more
The second attempt was a successful one: the Werkself won 1-0 at Hamburger SV in the rearranged Bundesliga Matchday 17 encounter. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand's side dominated play from the start and eventually scored the winning goal through Christian Kofane in the 73rd minute.
Show more
