Head coach Peter Bosz can again call on one more option in defence: The period of self-isolation for Edmond Tapsoba ended at the weekend. The 21 year old completed an individual session at the start of the week and took part in full training on Tuesday morning. Tapsoba tested positive for Covid-19 after returning from international duty with Burkina Faso.
Also back on the training ground on Tuesday was Nadiem Amiri after illness forced him to drop out of the clash with Hertha Berlin (0:0). The duo are an option for the squad for the Europa League away game at Nice on Thursday 3 December (kick-off: 21.00 CET).
The Bayer 04 team will head off for the south of France on Wednesday afternoon. The first duty on the Côte d'Azur is the pre-match press conference at the stadium. Head coach Bosz will be joined on the top table by central defender Jonathan Tah to answer questions on the fourth Europa League game of the season posed remotely by journalists.
Following his first-team debut in the Europa League home game against Hapoel Be’er Sheva (4-1), Emrehan Gedikli is now listed in the senior squad at bayer04.de plus in the print publications Werks11 Magazin and BayArena Aktuell. The 17-year-old central striker has played at Bayer 04 from the U8 side upwards. Information on the fifth youngest debutant at Bayer 04 is available on his profile page.
Who does not deserve a surprise from Bayer 04 for doing something special this year? Come to the Wiesdorf fan shop (Wiesdorfer Pl. 9, 51373 Leverkusen), fill out a card and hang it on the wishing tree - and the person you've named is in the draw!
Bayer 04 were away to Schalke 04 on 1 December 1979 on Bundesliga matchday 15. At that point, the Werkself were in twelfth position in the table in their first season in the top-flight. Schalke were fifth. Up to the match in Gelsenkirchen, Leverkusen were stronger at home but without a win on the road; but that changed on the first day in December.
Thanks to a brace from striker Peter Szech (40’, 71’), the Black and Reds beat the Royal Blues 2-0 to banish the bad luck away from home in the Bundesliga. The Neuss-born Szech played for Leverkusen from 1978 to 1982 before joining rivals Bayer 05 (predecessors of today's third division club KFC Uerdingen 05) and he ended his playing career in 1984 at RW Essen.
On Sunday 6 December (kick-off: 18.00 CET) the Black and Reds are again away to Schalke 04 – this time the roles are reversed. While the Werkself are currently third in the table, the Royal Blues are bottom. And in the away form table, Bayer 04 have considerably more points than back then: Leverkusen are second with eleven points from five games. Hopefully the result of the forthcoming game at the Veltins Arena can be a repeat of 1979…
The former Werkself centre forward Marcus Feinbier celebrated his 51st birthday on Monday. Born in Berlin, Feinbier played for the Leverkusen U19 team for a season in 1987 and then went on to spend six years in the first-team squad. During this time, he played 69 Bundesliga games for Bayer 04 and scored three goals. After his time under the Bayer Cross, Feinbier moved on to Hertha Berlin, Alemannia Aachen, FC Nürnberg and Fortuna Düsseldorf. Most recently, the 51-year-old was head coach at the amateur club FC Leverkusen. Bayer 04 wish: Belated happy birthday, Marcus.
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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With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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