He deserves it: Florian Wirtz is in the vote for the Bundesliga Player of the Month on the popular football game FIFA 22. The Bayer 04 midfielder made his mark in September with three goals and two assists – his two goals in the Europa League are not counted. you can vote for Flo HERE.
The other nominees are Leroy Sané, Joshua Kimmich (both Bayern Munich), Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund), Christian Günter (SC Freiburg) and Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig).
The online portal transfermarkt.de has updated the market value of 124 Bundesliga players. The Werkself (+ €34 million) have posted the second-highest increase of all the Bundesliga clubs – behind Borussia Dortmund (+ €38 million). The biggest percentage increase (76.9 per cent) was achieved by central defender Odilon Kossounou, who was able to increase his market value from 13 to 23 million euros. Youngster Florian Wirtz is now worth €65 million after the latest adjustments to market values and he is now one of top five valuable German players according to transfermarkt.de .
Wirtz again and again: The former Germany coach Berti Vogts is “excited” by Leverkusen’s exceptional talent and he predicts the 18-year-old will have a “great career.” Wirtz has “even more potential than international players like Leroy Sané, Serge Gnabry and Timo Werner,” Vogts wrote in his column on the news website t-online. The 74-year-old hopes the Germany coach Hansi Flick will give the offensive player “lots of time on the pitch and plenty of support over the coming months and years.” Then, Vogts added, Wirtz will have an outstanding career.
The derby between FC Köln and Bayer 04 will be played in front of a full house for the first time since December 2019. As announced by the neighbours from Cologne on Thursday, spectators will again be allowed to fill the 50,000 seats at the Müngersdorfer Stadium. Approval has been given by the health authority. This is contingent on only the vaccinated and recovered having access to the Arena. Excluded from this rule are children up to the age of 16 and non-vaccinated persons with a medical certificate. Away tickets will go on sale next week.
After the recovery session at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, the Bayer 04 Women will drop in on the fan flea market on Saturday between 10.00 and 15.00 CEST and join the visitors. In a repeat of last year the stands will be set up on the piazza by the West entrance to the BayArena. Access to the flea market is via Block F (North-West). All proceeds will go to the Leverkusen Community Foundation.
The former Bayer 04 player Daniel Bierofka, who made 98 appearances (15 goals) for the Werkself between 2002 and 2005 has been relieved of his duties as coach of the Austrian second division club Wacker Innsbruck. The 42-year-old took charge in August 2020 and he just avoided relegation last term. In the league, Bierofka’s team suffered a third defeat in succession on Sunday. “Unfortunately, the results haven’t gone right in the past few weeks. After intensive discussions between Daniel and I, we have reached the conclusion that a coach of coaches is necessary at this time, ” said Wacker sporting director Alfred Hörtnagl.
Bayer 04 wish Lucas Alario many happy returns of his 29th birthday. The striker is currently in Argentina with Werkself teammate Exequiel Palacios on international duty. In the night from Thursday to Friday there was a goalless draw for the Albiceleste against Paraguay. The Leverkusen duo are back in action on Monday, 11 October (kick-off: 01.30 CEST), in the game against Uruguay.
Also celebrating this Friday is former Bayer 04 coach Ralf Minge who is now 61. Minge was at Leverkusen for five years (2000 to 2005). Today he is the sporting director at third division Hallescher FC. Happy birthday.
The fourth showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 starts for the Leverkusen eSports team today, Thursday 22 January (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel and on the Bayer 04 app from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Reds will once again compete with six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round in Berlin on 2 February at the fourth showdown. The lowdown on our next three opponents in the online preliminary round.
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The fourth European away trip of the season in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 takes the Werkself to the Greek capital. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday seven in the UCL league phase. The match at the Karaiskakis Stadium is on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET). We'll be taking you on a trip to Athens and reporting on the Werkself close-up...
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A great honour for Bayer 04 Women's German international: as part of the 2025 Sports Awards, Carlotta Wamser entered her name into the City of Leverkusen's Golden Book. On Tuesday, she looked back on a special year in a talk in the Morsbroich Castle hall of mirrors.
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It was a disappointing night in Athens: The Werkself lost 2-0 away to Olympiacos on Matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. In a match that was intense and fiery from the outset, the high-pressing home side made the better start and took the lead through Costinha on two minutes. Although the Werkself had a number of chances to equalise, the clinical Greek side increased the lead to 2-0 shortly before half-time (45+1’). In the second half, Leverkusen once again gave their all and showed total commitment but, despite their best efforts, the Black and Reds were unable to break down the Olympiacos defence on the night.
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