Andrey Lunev finally made his debut for Bayer 04 in Budapest on 9 December. The Russia goalkeeper played the full 90 minutes in the final group match in the Europa League away to Hungarian champions Ferencváros. Bayer 04 TV accompanied the Werkself number 40 on the trip and met up with him for an interview. Here is the film on YouTube.
It should have been a positive end to the year: The Bayer 04 eSports players were due to face FC Köln on Tuesday night, 21 December, for a derby in the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL). However, the players from Cologne have had to cancel the match set to be played from 18.00 CET due to illness.
After ten games in the VBL Club Championship, the #B04eSports players have 41 points and are currently sixth out of 13 teams in the division. Xbox player Fabian ‘B04_DUBZJE’ de Cae and Co. are back in the VBL CC on Tuesday 11 January. They first face Borussia Mönchengladbach from 18.00 CET and two hours later they start the second half of the season against Holstein Kiel.
Fast counter-attacks and penetrating runs are part of the playing philosophy at the Werkself. There are several lightning quick players in the squad. Three of them belong to the total of 19 Bundesliga players who broke the 35 kmph mark in the first half of the season.
Seventh place in these sprinter rankings is taken by Jeremie Frimpong with the right-back chalking up a speed of 35.61 kmph. New signing Mitchel Bakker is in eighth spot with a speed of 35.58 kmph and Moussa Diaby is nineteenth. The Frenchman clocked up 35.14 kmph. Incredibly: The fastest Bundesliga player in the first half of the season is Jeremiah St. Juste (36.63 kmph) – a central defender at Mainz.
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Markus Elmer played for Bayer 04 for three years. Signed from VfB Stuttgart in 1980, the sweeper from Oberkochen in Baden-Württemberg made 42 Bundesliga appearances for the Black and Reds (two goals). However, Elmer had problems with an Achilles tendon after many years of professional football and he made his last appearance on 25 September 1982 – in a 3-0 defeat against his former club Stuttgart. After his playing career ended, Elmer became a coach in amateur football. Today he celebrates his 69th birthday. Many happy returns.
There won’t just be plenty of excitement on the pitch as Bayer 04 host Borussia Dortmund at the BayArena at 18:30 CET on Saturday. Outside the stadium there will be collection points for food donations to the Leverkusen Foodbank, which will also benefit from the profits of a jersey raffle in the Fanwelt afterwards. There will also be a minute’s silence before kick-off following the passing of long-time Werkself player Dieter Herzog, before two fan clubs are honoured for their decades-long support at half-time and fans receive a talk about Orange Day, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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Bayer 04 go into the first of two successive clashes with Borussia Dortmund boosted by their Champions League win at Manchester City. Ahead of the Bundesliga top match on Saturday, 29 November (kick-off: 18:30 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the tight schedule, BVB's strengths and returning squad members.
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Borussia Dortmund are doing very well in terms of points and results in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. BVB have only suffered two defeats to date this term. Now coach Niko Kovac's team are away to the Werkself on Saturday night, 29 November (kick-off: 18:30 CET) in the top match on Bundesliga matchday 12. The two teams meet again three days later in the DFB Pokal Round of 16 tie in Dortmund. Two very competitive encounters are on the cards. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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The Bayer 04 Women clcoked up a 3-2 win in a friendly against Twente Enschede on Thursday afternoon in the last international break of 2025. In drizzle, Lilla Turanyi (16’), Kristin Kögel (65’) and Paulina Bartz (69’) scored the goals for the Werkself against the Dutch Eredivisie Vrouwen leaders, who are still unbeaten in the league.
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