What an honour: The Werkself number one Lukas Hradecky is one of seven keepers nominated for the FIFA 21 ‘TOTY’. The 31-year-old is thereby already one of the best 70 players in the world.
Hradecky played the full 90 minutes in all the games in 2020 with the exception of the Europa League home game against Slavia Prague (4-0) just before Christmas. Vote HERE to put Lukas in the team of the year.
“Calm, direct and solid in his challenges” – the members of the media were full of praise for the performance of central defender Jonathan Tah in the 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen. The Rheinische Post awarded the 24-year-old a ’2’ and kicker a ‘2.5’. The Kölnische Rundschau included the Leverkusen player in their team of matchday 15.
Tah, who played the full 90 minutes in all of the last eight Bundesliga matches, played a big part in the Werkself only conceding two shots on goal against the team from the North. Only one team has bettered that this term – Bayer 04: Tah and Co. did not concede a single shot on goal on matchday eight in the 2-1 win at Bielefeld with Arminia scoring with an own goal.
After Bremen comes Frankfurt: Eintracht visit the BayArena on Tuesday night, 12 January (kick-off: 20.45 CET), for the second round tie in the DFB Cup. On Monday, head coach Adi Hütter said he wants to build on the performance in the 2-1 home win against Bayer 04 nine days ago. The Austrian: “We have to play like we did at home, be brave and continue our current form. It’s a one-off game where both teams want to go through.”
Frankfurt’s offensive star Filip Kostic is not available to Hütter due to a red card in last season’s DFB Cup campaign. Read the lowdown on our next opponents HERE.
A trio with a Werkself past are celebrating their birthdays: Jens Nowotny, at Bayer 04 from 1996 to 2006, was 47 on Monday. ‘Jenne’ made a total of 233 Bundesliga appearances for Leverkusen. Daniel Carvajal, also a defender like Nowotny, is now 29 years old. The Spaniard played for the Black and Reds in 2012/13 and he performed so well that his original club Real Madrid took him back to Spain after twelve months on loan. Carvajal has remained at the Madrid club since then.
The third birthday boy played behind the back four: Goalkeeper Dario Kresic, 37 on Monday, joined the Werkself from Mainz 05 in the summer of 2014. The Croat was a reliable back-up for Bernd Leno in the following two years. Kresic played in two games and both ended in victory for the Black and Reds. The Werks11 magazine includes a detailed report on the ‘King wine grower from Vukovar’ in edition two. It is available free of charge online HERE.
Bayer 04 wish all three: Happy birthday!
The final whistle of the current 2025/26 season marks the end of a unique partnership for Bayer 04 Leverkusen. After more than three decades of collaboration and highly eventful times, the Bundesliga football club and the private brewery Bitburger are going their separate ways.
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A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
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On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are bringing back Kerim Alajbegovic, who joined Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2025. The Bundesliga club activated the buy-back option in the contract with the Bosnia international, who has enjoyed great success at the Austrian top-flight club since the start of the current season. Alajbegovic moved to Salzburg from the Leverkusen U19s last year. The 1.86-metre forward has signed a five-year contract at Leverkusen with a start date of 1 July 2026.
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Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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