
"They are the poster boys of the Bundesliga: Players who make the difference for their teams," was the slogan in the Sky broadcast 'Stars of the Bundesliga'. And the new episode is all about Lucas Alario. With eight Bundesliga goals in the current season, ten assists and a total of 28 shots on goal, the Werkself striker is at the top of the rankings. Reason enough to take a closer look at the Argentinian and his route to the Bundesliga. In addition to teammate Wendell and sporting director Simon Rolfes, several other contemporaries of our number 13 get the chance to speak. The 30-minute episode will be broadcast on Sky Sport Bundesliga 1 on Thursday at 23.00 CET and will be available online afterwards.
Benjamin 'Benny' Henrichs will not be on the pitch on Saturday 30 January (kick-off: 18.30 CET) in the top match between RB Leipzig and Bayer 04. Persistent knee problems have sidelined the former Leverkusen defender. The 23-year old is currently on loan at RB Leipzig from Ligue 1 club AS Monaco. On Saturday, he will be available for interview by the broadcaster Sky. During the broadcast, Henrichs will not only talk about his time in the Principality and in Saxony but also look back at his past in Black and Red. He wore the Bayer 04 shirt for 14 years.
Benny is not the only one to enjoy great appreciation from Julian Nagelsmann as Peter Bosz is also highly rated by the RB Leipzig coach. At the pre-match press conference ahead of the clash on Saturday night, the 33-year-old was really enthusiastic: "I consider Peter Bosz to be one of the most accomplished coaches that we have, not only in the Bundesliga but also in Europe." He believes the Dutchman lets all his teams play "great and successful football." Nagelsmann added: "My former players have continued to improve under him." Last season, Nagelsmann coached Patrik Schick at RB Leipzig and he worked at Hoffenheim for considerably longer with Kerem Demirbay (2016-19) and Nadiem Amiri (2016-19 including youth teams). Talking about our number 11 at the press conference, Nagelsmann said: "If I had a kickabout on the recreation ground with Amiri then I would know exactly what he wants to do."
Organised football was already being played in the 19th century – there were rules, clubs, associations, regional champions and even international fixtures. But there was a need for a central organisation. So, exactly 121 years ago, on 28 January 1900, the German Football Association (DFB) was founded in Leipzig. Six club representative were brought together six months before to organise a foundation meeting for a 'General German Football Association'. 36 people representing 86 clubs responded to the invitation to "all football clubs of the Empire and from Germany – Austria" and made their way to the "First General Football Meeting". The DFB was founded by a vote of 64 for and 22 against and since then has been in charge of regulating matches in Germany.

The fourth showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 starts for the Leverkusen eSports team today, Thursday 22 January (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel and on the Bayer 04 app from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Reds will once again compete with six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round in Berlin on 2 February at the fourth showdown. The lowdown on our next three opponents in the online preliminary round.
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The fourth European away trip of the season in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 takes the Werkself to the Greek capital. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday seven in the UCL league phase. The match at the Karaiskakis Stadium is on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET). We'll be taking you on a trip to Athens and reporting on the Werkself close-up...
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A great honour for Bayer 04 Women's German international: as part of the 2025 Sports Awards, Carlotta Wamser entered her name into the City of Leverkusen's Golden Book. On Tuesday, she looked back on a special year in a talk in the Morsbroich Castle hall of mirrors.
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It was a disappointing night in Athens: The Werkself lost 2-0 away to Olympiacos on Matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. In a match that was intense and fiery from the outset, the high-pressing home side made the better start and took the lead through Costinha on two minutes. Although the Werkself had a number of chances to equalise, the clinical Greek side increased the lead to 2-0 shortly before half-time (45+1’). In the second half, Leverkusen once again gave their all and showed total commitment but, despite their best efforts, the Black and Reds were unable to break down the Olympiacos defence on the night.
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