Following Tuesday night’s 2-1 win, the team under head coach Peter Bosz temporarily moved up to second in the table behind Bayern Munich – but RB Leipzig regained second spot on Wednesday with a 1-0 win against Union Berlin. That means the Werkself finish the first half of the season on 32 points (Leipzig: 35; Bayern: 39) in third place in a Champions League position.
Due to the crowded fixture list, the first half of the season finishes in the middle of a run of games – there is no sense of half-time as the second half of the season starts on Saturday with a game at home to VfL Wolfsburg (Saturday 23 January, 15.30 CET).
The final day in self-isolation after arriving in Germany on Sunday, the first Werkself training session on Monday, the first time in the squad on Tuesday against BVB – new signing Timothy Fosu-Mensah has jumped straight in at the deep end with the Werkself. Thursday brought the obligatory first media session. At the photo shoot, profile and autograph card photos were taken and that was followed by video production and the first interview was completed. That will be available here soon on Bayer 04 TV.
Our sporting director has a reason to celebrate: Simon Rolfes’ birthday is today. The Bayer 04 honorary captain was born in Ibbenbüren in the Westphalian region of Tecklenburger Land 39 years ago. The Bayer 04 family wish Simon many happy returns. On his birthday, we have dug out the Bayer 04 YouTube channel episode of ‘Den kenn‘ ich!’ (I know him) with Rolfes and Stefan Kießling. The duo played together for almost ten years but how well do they know each other? Here is the video.
The wait for the next episode of our Werks11 podcast is nearly over. Next Tuesday is the day. The new edition was recorded on Thursday. And we can reveal this much: It’s another current Werkself player who will talk about football and also divulge details on his private life. He is tall, blond, often wears gloves and he knows cold temperatures from his home country…
The Bayer 04 Women have been the surprise package in the league this season are in the top half of the table in fifth with 20 points. One of the reasons is the big squad as head coach Achim Feifel explains in an interview in the women's football magazine 'ELFEN: "It was important to us to have two players in each position. That leads to more depth, greater competition and increased intensity in training." The full article on the Werkself Women and their new role is in the current 'ELFEN' edition #4. The magazine is available from the usual outlets now.
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
Show more
With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
Show more
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
Show more
From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
Show more
Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
Show more
