Lothar Matthäus, Franz Beckenbauer, Uwe Seeler and Co. – the really big names are in the Hall of Fame at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. Five new members were added a few days ago: German sports journalists have voted in Rudi Völler, Michael Ballack, Berti Vogts, Andreas Möller and Klaus Fischer. Völler was clearly extremely happy to receive this nomination: “It’s a great thing. Being counted amongst the inner circle of these wonderful and first-class players makes me proud and it’s not a given.”
The 60-year-old (90 international caps/46 goals) clocked up 62 Bundesliga appearances for Leverkusen during his playing career, Ballack (98/42) played a total of 114 times for the Werkself in Germany’s top flight. And Vogts also has a black and red past: He coached the Werkself for five months from November 2000.
The DFB announced the decision in the middle of August but Florian Wirtz finally had it in his hands at the weekend: The Leverkusen player was presented with his gold Fritz Walter medal in the U17 category by Ronny Zimmermann, DFB vice-president for youth football. “Winning this medal has been a big target for me for a long time. That’s why it means a lot to me to receive this award now,” said Wirtz on dfb.de.
The 17-year-old along with teammate Lennart Grill is currently with the Germany U21 squad. The Germany team play Bosnia-Herzegovina in a Euro U21 qualifier Tuesday 13 October (18.15 CEST/live on ProSieben MAXX).
On Tuesday 13 October, the ‘Task force for the future of professional football’ is discussing the lessons from the Covid-19 crisis for the first time since the group’s formation. A total of 35 experts in the fields of sport, politics, research, business and media were appointed to the working party by the DFL executive committee. This includes Fabian Otto, director of finance and personnel at Bayer 04. “I’m looking forward to being able to play a positive role in these important discussions for professional football. I’m keen to see the character of the group and hear their wide range of views,” said Otto after being appointed in the middle of September.
Freiburg’s defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend left them two places but a whole 10 points behind Bayer 04. Their results in general may be mixed, but Julian Schuster’s side are a force to be reckoned with at home, where they have earned 24 of their 33 points. Leverkusen may choose to look for the aerial route if they’re to get the better of their hosts, who have conceded more headed goals than any other team. Here’s all you need to know ahead of Saturday afternoon’s game in our matchday news.
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A boost for the second Bundesliga away game in a row: The Werkself take on SC Freiburg just three days after the convincing 1-0 win at Hamburger SV. Ahead of the game on Saturday, 7 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the lessons learned from the rearranged fixture at HSV, a trio on yellow cards and young players like Christian Kofane and Montrell Culbreath.
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SC Freiburg suffered their eighth away defeat of the season in Frankfurt last weekend. But at home, at the Europa Park Stadion, coach Julian Schuster's team are clocking up one win after the next. SCF are unbeaten in the last 16 matches at home. On Saturday, 7 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET), they will be looking to keep the run going in the clash with the Werkself. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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For the third time in a row, the Leverkusen eSports players have made it through to the final round of the VBL Club Championship. From 7 to 8 March, they will compete for the German Club Championship at XPERION in Hamburg. At the start of the final round, they face Hamburger SV in the Round of 16. The match starts at 19:30 CET on Saturday, 7 March and will be broadcast live on the VBL Twitch channel. The eSports preview.
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The German Football League (DFL) has scheduled Matchdays 28 to 30 in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The fixtures at a glance.
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