He certainly deserves it: Patrik Schick is in the vote for the Bundesliga Player of the Month award for December. The Bayer 04 centre forward scored a remarkable eight goals in four Bundesliga matches including the 7-1 victory over SpVgg Greuther Fürth when he became the first Werkself player to score four goals in a match in Germany's top flight. You can vote for Patrik HERE.
In addition to Schick, the other nominees are Robert Lewandowski, Serge Gnabry (both Bayern Munich), Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig), Jesper Lindström (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Nico Schlotterbeck (SC Freiburg).
Florian Wirtz won the Player of the Month award in September.
And the Werkself striker Patrik Schick could also get his hands on the 2021 FIFA Puskas Award in the next few weeks. The 25-year-old is one of three finalists for his goal from 45 yards out in the European Championship match against Scotland on 14 June. Also nominated are the Argentinian forward Erik Lamela (Sevilla) and the Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi (FC Porto).
The trophy is awarded for the most beautiful goal in the calendar year and the winner will be announced in Zurich on 17 January. The current award winner for 2020 is the former Leverkusen player Heung-Min Son who joined Tottenham Hotspur from Bayer 04 in 2015.
The winner is chosen by an international panel consisting of a group of FIFA legends plus fans from across the world registered on FIFA.com. The votes of these two groups carry equal weight.
Patrik Schick has already secured a club award: Werkself fans voted his goal in the 2-2 draw with TSG Hoffenheim in the final home game of the year in 2021 as the Goal of the Month for December presented by like2drive. The Czech Republic striker made it 2-0 on 63 minutes with an impressive header from 12 yards out. Congratulations, Patrik. You can see that goal again here HERE.
After Amine Adli on Monday and Timothy Fosu-Mensah on Tuesday, Piero Hincapie was also on the training ground at the BayArena for the first time this year on Wednesday. The defender returned from his home country of Ecuador yesterday evening after having been forced to self-isolate due to a positive Covid-19 test.
Under the direction of fitness coach Daniel Jouvin, Hincapie completed an individual session along with Adli and Fosu-Mensah. The other Werkself players had Wednesday off after two intensive days of training. The first match of the New Year is on Saturday, 8 January (kick-off: 15.30 CET) against Union Berlin at the BayArena.
Thomas Kleine and second division Fortuna Düsseldorf have mutually agreed the termination of his contract. The former Bayer 04 player, who made 22 appearances for the Werkself as well as 95 for the Black and Red second team, had been the assistant coach at Fortuna since 2017. Kleine’s successor at Düsseldorf is Manfred Stefes. The 54-year-old last worked alongside Lucien Favre at Borussia Dortmund up to December 2020.
The Werkself congratulate Atakan Akkaynak on his 23rd birthday. The Troisdorf-born player of Turkish heritage joined Leverkusen in 2006 from TuS 07 Oberlar. He won the German U17 league title in 2016 and played in all the Black and Red youth teams up to 2018. The midfielder was then signed by the Dutch top-flight club Willem II Tilburg. After spells at Caykur Rizespor in Turkey and Türkgücü Munich, the former U19 international has been playing for Corum FK in the Turkish third division this season. Many happy returns from Bayer 04.
It's time for another Members' Matchday! Bayer 04's Bundesliga home game against 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 on Saturday 8 November (kick-off 15:30 CET) will see lots on offer for Werkself fans of all ages on the areas around the BayArena. Members also benefit from exclusive discounts until Sunday. More information on that, and the clash with FCH, in the Matchday News.
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1. FC Heidenheim 1846 are currently bottom of the table in their third season in the Bundesliga. However, after a poor start, the underdogs from Baden-Württemberg have recently shown an upturn in form. This Saturday, 8 November (kick-off: 15:30 CET), FCH will once again be looking perform as a cohesive, combative unit at the BayArena. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Before heading into the final international break of the year, the Werkself entertain 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 at home in the Bundesliga on Saturday, 8 November (kick-off: 15:30 CET). Ahead of the encounter on Bundesliga matchday 10, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about anticipation ahead of the game in front of a home crowd after three away fixtures in a row. He also talked about player availability.
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The fixture details for the Round of 16 ties in the 2025/26 DFB Pokal have been finalised. Accordingly, Bayer 04's away match at Borussia Dortmund will be played on Tuesday, 2 December, at 21:00 CET. This was announced by the German Football Association (DFB) today (Thursday).
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Bayer 04 picked up their first three points in the current Champions League campaign on matchday 4 in the league phase with a courageous and determined display in a 1-0 win at Benfica (1:0). "It was a hugely important win," said coach Kasper Hjulmand after the game, paying tribute to his players for their battling performance right to the end. The Werkself defended resolutely right to the end and kept out off shot after shot. Keeper Mark Flekken said: "We were determined to get these three points and gave everything we had on the pitch!" Read on for more reaction plus the facts and stats on the away win at the Portuguese record champions in the Werkself review.
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