News in brief: Seventh team in Europe – important days for Wirtz

The DFB Cup semi-final results at the weekend not only ensured positive vibes for Leipzig (2-1 a.e.t. against Werder Bremen) and Dortmund (5-0 against Holstein Kiel): As RB Leipzig are certain of finishing in the top four with three games to go then the team from Saxony winning the cup would see the sixth-placed team in the Bundesliga also qualify for the Europa League. The Werkself are currently in that position (on 50 points) with a four-point lead over Borussia Mönchengladbach and Union Berlin.

As it stands, it is more than probable that sixth place in the Bundesliga will be enough to qualify for the Europa League if Borussia Dortmund win the cup: The team under coach Edin Terzic, with a nine-point and 11-goal advantage over seventh place, are only mathematically likely to be displaced from the top six with three games to play.

WIRTZ: NEW DEAL AND A-LEVELS

The first days after a birthday could hardly be more exciting: This morning, the now 18-year-old Florian Wirtz completed an intensive session on pitch one alongside his teammates and immediately afterwards the youngster from Pulheim penned a contract extension at Bayer 04. The talented midfielder has committed himself to the Werkself to 2026, the maximum possible duration of the contract.

Flo Wirtz is not just in demand on the pitch this week. He also has his final A-level examination at the Landrat Lucas Grammar School this week; he has maths on Tuesday. Last week, Wirtz did his examinations in geography (Tuesday) and German (Friday). The day after, following training in the morning, he had a big interview and photo shoot for the next edition of the Werks11 Magazin – then the focus will exclusively be on the Bundesliga away game in Bremen on Saturday, 8 May (kick-off: 15.30 CET).

After a fixture-free weekend, the clash with Werder Bremen represents the starting shot for the last three games of the season. The other opponents for the Black and Reds are Union Berlin (15 May) and Borussia Dortmund (22 May).

#BLTOTS: BAILEY NOMINATED

Ahead of the final weeks of the Bundesliga campaign, the German Football League (DFL) and EA Sports are again holding their vote for the Team of the Season. With Leon Bailey, this year's candidates includes a Werkself player. Click HERE to vote.

A total of 40 players have been nominated based on the official match data in the Bundesliga. The vote is open until Thursday, 6 May at 17.00 CEST. The Team of the Season will be announced eight days later. The vote is weighted as follows: The fans vote counts for 40% and the panel of experts plus the team captains of the 18 Bundesliga clubs each have 30%. The best 11 players make it into the Team of the Season powered by EA SPORTS and they will have significantly increased values in FIFA 21.

UCL SEMI-FINAL: CARVAJAL SIDELINED

From the age of 10, Dani Carvajal has never played for a club other than Real Madrid – with the exception of Bayer 04. The right-back joined Leverkusen on loan from the Real Madrid second team in 2012 and he developed into a top player here. He returned to Spain after one season and Carvajal has made an impressive 199 appearances in La Liga since then. Four Champions League titles, two league titles and a number of other trophies underline the abilities of the former Leverkusen player who is now an established first choice at Real Madrid.

That makes it even more disappointing that the 29-year-old will miss the semi-final second leg in the Champions League against Chelsea with Kai Havertz. Carvajal has suffered a muscle injury in his right leg. He will be out of action for at least three weeks. At the earliest, he could be available for the Champions League final on 29 May. Get well soon, Dani.

FORMER DFL BOSS: Rettig joins Viktoria Köln

The Leverkusen-born and long-standing Bundesliga general manager Andreas Rettig takes up the post of chairman of the board at third division FC Viktoria Köln on 1 June. The 58-year-old has agreed a four-year deal with the club currently eighth in the third tier.

Rettig started his working life in his hometown: From 1984 to 1987 he trained to be an industrial management assistant at Bayer AG. From 1989 to 1998 he worked in different positions at Bayer 04 before moving on to SC Freiburg. His other jobs as sporting director and/or CEO were at FC Köln, FC Augsburg and FC St. Pauli. Rettig was also the CEO of the German Football League (DFL) from 2013 to 2015.