In between the Bundesliga and Europa League – on Monday evening 19 October, Simon Rolfes will be fielding questions on ’100% Bundesliga’ broadcast on RTL Nitro. From 22.15 CEST, the presenters Laura Wontorra and Thomas Wagner plus pundit Steffen Freund will be talking to Rolfes about the start of the new season and the forthcoming Europa League game against Nice to be played at the BayArena on Thursday 22 October (kick-off: 18.55 CEST).
Only having signed for Bayer 04 from Portuguese club Vitória Guimarães in the winter, Edmond Tapsoba has quickly settled in alongside Sven Bender and is now a reliable player in central defence. In the 1-0 win at Mainz, the 21-year-old Burkina Faso international frustrated a number of attacks by Mainz 05. That was recognised by the tabloid newspaper Bild as he was named in their Team of the Day. That is the first nomination by the paper for the 1.94 m tall this season.
The final squad is known, the final team photo was taken on Sunday afternoon. At the end of the week, there was a PR and partners day on the agenda for the Werkself the day after the win at Mainz. Following the regeneration session – as usual there was also training for players who did not take part in the game – Charles Aránguiz and Co. took up their positions for the team photo.
That also included Patrik Schick, who signed for Bayer 04 from AS Roma at the start of September. Santiago Arias, on loan from Atlético Madrid, missed the photo call due to his operation in Madrid. The 28-year-old suffered a broken leg and ligament damage to his ankle playing for Colombia. Tin Jedvaj missed out due to illness.
The Slovakia Football Association have parted company with national coach Pavel Hapal four weeks before the crucial European Championship play-off match against Northern Ireland. The former player, at Leverkusen from 1992 to 1995 (86 Bundesliga appearances), had been the Slovakia coach since 2018.
A trio as potential hosts: The DFB is applying with Holland and Belgium to stage the women’s 2027 World Cup. The motto for the three neighbouring states: ‘Three nations. One target.’
“We know how high the hurdles are before you can achieve approval to stage a tournament like that. Our organisational experience, the strength of our new DFB and the prospect of international cooperation makes us look optimistically to the future,” said DFB president Fritz Keller. Germany staged the Women’s World Cup for the first time in 2011. Leverkusen was a venue back then. Three group matches and the quarter-final between England and France were played at the BayArena.
Ten years after retiring as a player, Kristina Sundov is returning to the Bayer 04 Women’s team as assistant coach. The 39-year-old former Croatia international takes over from Remzi Kahraman, who has taken up a new challenge abroad. She has been given a contract to 30 June 2028.
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The training pitches at the BayArena are already buzzing with activity again, even before training officially begins next week. On Monday morning, a small group from the Werkself first-team squad completed a session lasting around an hour. Both new and familiar faces were present.
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One ticket, two matches – and a varied programme of events, including appearances by players from the professional teams: Bayer 04 has come up with something very special for the 2026 season launch on Saturday, 8 August. From morning right through to the evening, Werkself fans can use just one ticket to not only enjoy top-class football from the Bayer 04 teams live, but also to experience unforgettable moments with the whole family through a variety of hands-on activities around the BayArena and the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The day will also end on a real high note: after both matches, Bayer 04 supporters will have the opportunity to interact directly with the players during joint activities and get to know them from a different angle.
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Issa Traoré is moving from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Slovakian top-flight side AS Trencin. The club has loaned the centre-back out for one year to this year’s ninth-placed team in the Slovakian league.
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