The team led by head coach Peter Bosz are preparing for the second Bundesliga home game in succession in icy temperatures. FSV Mainz 05 are the visitors on Saturday, 13 February (kick-off: 15.30 CET). The limited number of persons permitted at the BayArena due to the coronavirus pandemic will include Joachim ‘Jogi’ Löw.
This will be the first visit by the Germany coach to a match at Leverkusen since the start of the pandemic. The reason: The DFL hygiene protocol did not allow members of the DFB management to attend Bundesliga games until a few matchdays ago.
Löw’s assistant coach Marcus Sorg was at the BayArena last weekend for the 5-2 home win for the Werkself against VfB Stuttgart.
Florian Wirtz has been playing for Bayer 04 for just over a year. His development during this time is more than impressive: Joining from the youth set-up at FC Köln, the technically gifted offensive player quickly convinced head coach Peter Bosz of his ability. After nine first team appearances in the 2019/20 season and the departure of Kai Havertz to Chelsea in the summer, the management at Bayer 04 looked to play Wirtz in an attacking midfield role – and the 17-year-old has repaid that confidence with a lot of good performances.
The youngster, born in Pulheim, has made 24 appearances this season. Thanks to his goal against Stuttgart – his seventh this term – Wirtz is the only U18 player to have scored five goals in the Bundesliga. Reason enough for transfermarkt.de to increase the market value of the Werkself player. For last year's winner of the gold Fritz Walter Medal that meant an increase from €24-€45 million. Wirtz is now the most valuable 17-year-old worldwide.
Wirtz is nowhere near the only Leverkusen player whose market value has risen according to recent Bundesliga updates from transfermarkt.de. Central defender Edmond Tapsoba is now worth €40 million (+10 million), the two wingers Moussa Diaby (+ 2 to 38 million) and Leon Bailey (+5.5 to 35 million) have also seen an increase. Other adjustments: Nadiem Amiri (+6 to 22 million), new signing Jeremie Frimpong (+6 to 10 million) and Daley Sinkgraven (+1.5 to 9 million).
The youth players Emrehan Gedikli, Cem Tuna Türkmen and Samed Onur have also been given a market value for the first time in their careers. The 17-year-old centre forward Gedikli is rated at €750,000 and the two 18-year-old midfielders at €400,000.
Last weekend, Moussa Diaby posed huge problems to the Stuttgart defence with his inimitable tempo. The France U21 international provided the assists at 3-1 and 4-1 and thereby played a big part in the 5-2 home win. The games manufacturer EA Sports has rewarded the performance of the Werkself player with a place in the Team of the Week 20 on FIFA Ultimate Team. Congratulations, Moussa.
At the age of 19, Jonathan Tah joined Bayer 04 from Hamburg SV in 2015. Since then, the imposing central defender at the Werkself has developed into a regular starter and he has also played for the national team. 'Jona' is 25 years old today (Thursday). Congratulations on your big day.
The Hamburg-born defender could have a second reason to celebrate this week if he plays against Mainz 05: It would be his 150th Bundesliga appearance for Leverkusen.
Two other former Werkself players celebrate their birthdays on this Thursday. Markus Happe, DFB Cup winner in 1993, is 49 today. Ralf Falkenmayer, UEFA Cup winner in 1988, has his 58th birthday. Bayer 04 wish both many happy returns.
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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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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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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