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.
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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