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 Golden Boy Top 100 traditionally lists Europe’s most promising young players. In the latest update, published to mark the start of the new season, four current Werkself players – alongside loanee Francis Onyeka – feature on the list. This means Bayer 04 have the most players in contention of any Bundesliga club.
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Goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe will continue to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen next season. The loan of the Germany U23 international, who joined from Liverpool in the winter, has been extended by a further year.
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The Bayer 04 delegation, led by Fernando Carro, CEO, concluded their multi-day trip to Brazil with a visit to the community-based organisation Bola Pra Frente in Rio de Janeiro – founded by former Werkself player Jorginho. During the visit, Bayer 04 committed to extending support for the Bola Pra Frente project for a further five years. In addition, Jorginho, a member of the Brazil 1994 World Cup-winning squad, was named Bayer 04’s second official club legend. With the visit to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the club has strengthened the relationships built up over the years in one of Bayer 04’s most important international markets.
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Ten years after retiring as a player, Kristina Sundov is returning to the Bayer 04 Women’s team as assistant coach. The 39-year-old former Croatia international takes over from Remzi Kahraman, who has taken up a new challenge abroad. She has been given a contract to 30 June 2028.
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The training pitches at the BayArena are already buzzing with activity again, even before training officially begins next week. On Monday morning, a small group from the Werkself first-team squad completed a session lasting around an hour. Both new and familiar faces were present.
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