Werkself player Exequiel Palacios was on the winning side for Argentina in the clash between the Copa América winners and the European champions with a 3-0 victory over Italy on Wednesday night. While it is the second Finalissima title for La Albiceleste from South America following on from 1993, Palacios had the trophy in his hands for the first time at Wembley Stadium. The 23-year-old midfielder came on as a substitute on 75 minutes.
For Palacios, at Leverkusen since January 2020, it is his second title for Argentina since winning the COPA America last year. At club level with the top-flight Argentinian side River Plate, he has already won the national cup (2017 and 2019) plus the South American equivalent of the Champions League in 2018. The Werkself number 25 has made 19 full international appearances to date and 52 for the Black and Reds. Congratulations, Pala.
Werkself players are in action for their countries in the next few days. Mitchel Bakker makes a start from a Black and Red perspective before the weekend with the Netherlands U21s in a Euros qualifier against Moldova (Friday 3 June, 18.45 CEST).
Two hours after the kick-off in the U21 Euros qualifier comes the game for France with Moussa Diaby against Denmark in the UEFA Nations League. From 21.00 CEST Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso) and Odilon Kossounou (Ivory Coast) have their first matches in the qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations.
In the night from Friday to Saturday, Ecuador with Piero Hincapie have a friendly against Nigeria (kick-off: 02.30 CEST), and on Saturday night there are the Nations League games for Germany with Jonathan Tah against Italy as well as for Finland with goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Here are the upcoming internationals involving Leverkusen players.
A great honour for Heung-min Son: The former Werkself player (2013 to 2015) receives the highest sporting award in his home country South Korea on this Thursday afternoon. The 29-year-old star striker who has played for the top English club Tottenham Hotspur since his move from Bayer 04 in 2015 received the Cheongnyong medal from state president Yoon Suk-Yeol ahead of the international against Brazil (1-5). The former Leverkusen player became the first Asian player to be top goalscorer in the Premier League with 23 goals in 35 league matches.
Today (Thursday), Paulo Sergio, the most prolific Brazilian in a Werkself shirt, celebrates his 53rd birthday – Bayer 04 wish many happy returns. Paulo Sérgio Silvestre do Nascimento, his full name, made 121 Bundesliga appearances for the Black and Reds (47 goals) from 1993 to 1997. After his four years at Leverkusen, the 1994 World Cup winner moved on to AS Roma and then Bayern Munich.
Today is also the birthday of former Leverkusen player Fredrik Stenman (February 2006 to June 2007 – 28 Bundesliga appearances for Bayer 04), who is now 39 years old. The third birthday boy is the 45-year-old Iranian Dariush Yazdani, Who played at Leverkusen in the second half of the 1998/99 season making one appearance for the Black and Reds. Many happy returns to you too.
The Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog, you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme for day two (Monday, 3 August) centres on two training sessions – one in the morning (open to the public) and one in the early evening (behind closed doors) – at the nearby training grounds. In the afternoon, fans can look forward to a big fan meet-up with club legend Paulo Sergio at Schloss Blankenhain.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended Abdoulaye Faye’s contract by a further year to 30 June 2031. During the 2026/27 season, the talented defender will play for Celta Vigo on loan without an option to buy. The 21-year-old Senegalese is set to feature in La Liga and the UEFA Europa League with last season’s sixth-placed side in Spain.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme on day one (Sunday 2 August) includes a media round with managing director sport Simon Rolfes, free time for the team after the friendly against Rot-Weiss Essen and before an intensive week of training begins, as well as a coffee get-together where CEO Fernando Carro and Rolfes met around 100 fans in the afternoon.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed Kerim Alajbegovic’s transfer to Italian record champions Juventus. The club brought the 18-year-old attacking player back to Leverkusen this summer via a buy-back option, following a season at Red Bull Salzburg. Until his move to Austria, the Bosnia international had been playing for Bayer 04’s Under-19s.
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A warm welcome to the Weimarer Land, Bayer 04! The Werkself moved into their accommodation for this year’s training camp on Saturday evening. In Blankenhain, Thuringia, head coach Carles Martínez’s team have a programme of gruelling training sessions – several of which will be open to fans – and team-building activities lined up for the next six days. We’ll be following the Werkself up close and providing you with exclusive insights, quotes, photos and videos from the training camp.
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