'Das aktuelle Sportstudio’ on ZDF is one of the most famous sports programmes in Germany. Leverkusen sporting managing director Rudi Völler is the guest in the studio in Mainz this Saturday evening, 3 April. The 60-year-old will discuss a number of issues with presenter Sven Voss including his decision not to extend his contract at Bayer 04 due to run out in 2022.
In an interview with Sport Bild, Völler recently spoke about his decision: "I discussed this with my wife Sabrina at Christmas. Since then it's been clear that 2022 will be the end for me. At least in this form. Now is the right time because the club is fundamentally in a good position."
Bayer 04 head coach Hannes Wolf opted for a training session split in two on Wednesday: The warm-up and the following passing drills were completed by Charles Aránguiz and Co. at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium with the second part of the session on the pitch at the BayArena. There was an intense 11 v 11 match for the Werkself. Following on from the session on Tuesday, U19 players Marvin Alexa (see photo below) and Joshua Eze joined the group.
Lennart Grill completed his first training session under new coach Wolf. The goalkeeper has returned from the U21 European Championship where progress to the last eight was secured for Germany last night thanks to a goalless draw with Romania. For Grill and Co. the competition continues with the quarter-finals in Székesfehérvár in Hungary on 31 May. This will involve the teams that finished first and second in the four groups.
Wolf will hold training sessions every day up to the Bundesliga home game against Schalke 04 on Saturday, 3 April (kick-off: 15.30 CEST). The match against the bottom side will be the first game for the 39-year-old as the Werkself head coach.
The new Werks11 Magazine is on its way to Bayer 04 members. As usual, edition 30 includes a wealth of interesting information relating to the Werkself and life at Bayer 04. Fernando Carro, chairman of the board at Bayer 04, has met with four representatives of the fans to discover their experience of football during the coronavirus pandemic.
The editors met up with Nadiem Amiri for an interview at a football pitch in Rheindorf. A detailed look at our three winter signings Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Jeremie Frimpong and Demarai Gray is included as is a portrait of goalkeeper Lennart Grill. There is also an introduction to the Japanese player Mina Tanaka from the Bayer 04 Women's team plus the new U19 coach Sven Hübscher. On top of that, there are a large number of other entertaining articles, reports and impressive photos from the Black and Red world.
Once again you are spoilt for choice. Bayer 04 are looking for the best goal in the month of March 2021 presented by like2drive. The nominations this time round are the Werkself striker Patrik Schick, U19 player Samed Onur plus Chiara Bücher and Mina Tanaka from the Women's team. Click HERE to vote on Facebook.
The German Football Association (DFB) and the German Football League (DFL) last year introduced a course on management in professional football. Stefan Kießling, first team coordinator at Bayer 04, was one of 14 participants to start the course. In a recent interview with bayer04.de, the former player revealed details of the qualification which could become compulsory for Bundesliga managers in the future. As the head of the DFB Academy Tobias Haupt revealed to the news website t-online, the DFB and DFL are already holding intensive discussions on an appropriate change to the statutes.
Anders als bei Trainern – diese müssen den Fußball-Lehrer-Lehrgang durchlaufen, um in der Bundesliga als Chefcoach arbeiten zu können – gab es bei den Managern der Bundesliga bis 2020 keine klassische Standardausbildung. Die Wege in das Berufsfeld waren daher unterschiedlichster Natur.
Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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Carles Martìnez is raring to go. The 42-year-old speaks in his first interview in Leverkusen about the club's development to date and how he wants to build on it. He describes his previous work in France, Kuwait, Qatar and his native Barcelona, his experience in developing young players, and the key steps between now and the start of pre-season training.
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Bayer 04 plans for the 2026/27 pre-season continue to take shape. The Werkself will kick off the new season in mid-July with the return to the training ground. The highlight will be the official season opener on 8 August at the BayArena, including a friendly against La Liga club Sevilla. Friendlies in Germany will take the team to neighbouring Monheim, Offenbach and Jena.
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