Bayer 04 will have to manage without Kerem Demirbay for another two games in the Europa League. The midfielder was shown a red card in the closing stages of the 4-0 home win against Real Betis early in November. UEFA confirmed the three-match ban on Tuesday evening. Demirbay will only be available to the Werkself for the second leg of the Round of 16 tie in March 2022 .
The 28-year-old will miss the last match in Group G against Ferencváros (9 December) as well as the Round of 16 first leg in the middle of March of next year. Bayer 04 are certain of finishing top of the group that means Demirbay and Co. will proceed straight to the last 16.
Sporting managing director Rudi Völler is in favour of using former players in support of VAR match officials. "I'm now of the opinion that a former player could possibly be helpful with his experiences in many situations," said the 61-year-old to Sport Bild. Völler played over 650 games at club level that included winning the champions league in 1993 with Olympique Marseille. The former world class striker won the World Cup with Germany in 1990 and played for the Werkself between 1994 and 1996.
The mood of Jeremie Frimpong and Amine Adli could hardly be better at the moment: The Bayer 04 youngsters have been in the starting line-up in the past five games – and played a considerable part in securing four wins and a draw. Adli won three points for the Werkself with his first Bundesliga goal in the 1-0 win against VfL Bochum. His teammate followed suit last weekend with his first goal in Germany's top-flight in a 3-1 victory at RB Leipzig.
Following the win against RB, the U21 international players Frimpong (Netherlands) and Adli (France) together watched Frimpong's celebration in the game in Leipzig – and they had a lot to laugh at. Click HERE for the video.
It was one of the crucial moments in the home game against Bochum: the sliding tackle from Jonathan Tah on Takuma Asano. The Bochum player was about to shoot from the penalty spot but our key defender arrived at the last minute to put in a sliding tackle to maintain the 1-0 lead. A really important and impressive move that deservedly won the award for Save of the Month for November powered by iLOQ. Congratulations, Jona! HERE is a video of the clearance made by our number 4.
1 December 1979 is firmly fixed in the Bayer 04 history books as an historic event happened on that Saturday afternoon at the Park Stadium in Gelsenkirchen: The Werkself were the visitors at the then seven-time German champions FC Schalke 04. Matchday 15 in the first Bundesliga season in the club's history finally brought the first away win in the top-flight away to the Royal Blues.
Peter Szech scored both goals in the 2-0 victory and he was the matchwinner for the team coached by Wilibert Kremer. That victory was exactly 42 years ago and since then there have been 235 other Bundesliga wins for the Black and Reds on the road to date. Here's to many more!
As a comparison: In the current season, the Werkself already had 04 wins from 13 games away from home and are still unbeaten away from the BayArena. Bayer 04 are currently top of the away form table with 15 points.
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 personalised 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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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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