With an impressive return of three goals in two games, Patrik Schick led the Czech republic into the final clash in Group D. The Reprezentace were already guaranteed to go through to the next round but the final group positions remain to be resolved. The match ended in a narrow 1-0 defeat with Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) scoring the only goal of the game on 12 minutes.
That meant that the Czechs, with Schick being substituted on 75 minutes, ended up in third place in Group D. The four points guarantees them a place in the Round of 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams. It remains to be seen who the Czech Republic will play in the knockout round.
Austria, with the Werkself players Aleksandar Dragovic and Julian Baumgartlinger, qualified for the Round of 16 on Monday night. Austria will play Italy on Saturday, 26 June with the kick off at 21.00 CEST. Finland are still in limbo. Lukas Hradecky, Joel Pohjanpalo and Co. are third in Group B and now have to wait to see whether their three points will be enough to take them through to the next round.
The Copa America also continues this week. In the night from Monday to Tuesday, Chile with Werkself skipper Charles Aránguiz played Uruguay. After 90 minutes the scoreline was 1-1 and our number 20 played the full game. The next opponents for Chile are Paraguay. The kick-off on Friday, 25 June, is at 02.00 CEST.
Chile were replaced as leaders of Group A by another team with the Bayer 04 player: Argentina. The Albiceleste beat Paraguay 1-0 but Exequiel Palacios did not play in this game. The next match for Argentina is on Tuesday, 29 June (kick-off: 02.00 CEST) is against the as yet pointless and bottom of the group Bolivia.
Good performances at the partner club have led to a contract extension: Jan Boller, at Kurtekotten from 2013 to 2019, signed a two-year deal at the Austrian club Linzer ASK. The 21-year-old central defender was on loan at second division, FC Juniors OÖ, the feeder team for LASK. He impressed their, made 46 appearances as well as scoring five goals and providing two assists. Now the former Germany youth player will be looking to establish himself with the top team in the Austrian Bundesliga. We wish him continuing success.
When the current Bayer 04 honorary captain Ulf Kirsten move to Leverkusen from Dresden in 1990, his son Benjamin came with him. A goalkeeper in contrast to his striker father, he also played for Leverkusen in his younger years. Benjamin went through the ranks of all the teams at Kurtekotten and joined the Bayer 04 Reserves in the summer of 2006 – and he was between the sticks under the guidance of his father.
Kirsten spent the majority of his subsequent professional career at Dynamo Dresden. He played there for seven years. After moving on to NEC Nijmegen (Netherlands) plus Lokomotive Leipzig the goalkeeper recently announced the end of his career. Kirsten will start retraining in the summer as a sports business administration and his former club from Dresden will support him in his education. Good luck, Benny.
Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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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 personal 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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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with U19 midfielder Jonah Berghoff ahead of schedule. The Germany U18 international has signed professional terms with the club to 30 June 2030.
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Two months of preparation, five friendlies and the return of a familiar training camp location: After finishing fifth in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga last season, the Werkself will return to training on Tuesday, 23 June. Bayer04.de outlines the key dates in the 2026 summer timetable.
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