The holidays are over! The Werkself players came to the BayArena on Friday evening to undergo coronavirus tests – everything really gets going on Sunday. All the players first have to undergo the annual performance checks at the beginning of the season. The players will be kept busy for over four hours as they go through twelve different tests covering the areas of medicine, prevention and fitness. The first full training session will be on Monday – albeit without international players who are away with their national teams.
The Thursday edition of the Kicker sports journal included the first part of its half-yearly ranking of German football with four Werkself players in the positions of goalkeeper and central defender. Lukas Hradecky was fifth in the list of Bundesliga goalkeepers. "The Leverkusen player had a good second half of the season but with two crucial blemishes: Both in the league and in the DFB Cup, he made crucial mistakes against FC Bayern," was the reasoning.
Also outside the top four were central defenders Sven Bender in fifth place and Edmond Tapsoba in seventh. Jonathan Tah was also considered. The Kicker on Bender: "Extremely consistent, strong tackling leader also scored important goals. The Leverkusen player just misses out on the international category." On Tapsoba, the magazine writes: "brought in from Guimarães in the winter, Edmond Tapsoba got off to a flying start at Leverkusen with some outstanding performances. Pace, strength in challenges and a remarkable calm on the ball characterise the 21-year-old. The talented youngster from Burkina Faso did have jobs in two big games that he could not initially cope with: in the cup final against Bayern and in the Europa League against Inter Milan."
Two Werkself players have been included in the squad of the season for the UEFA Europa League. The technical observers from UEFA voted for 23 players involved in the Europa League 2019/20 campaign – from Bayer 04 are Jonathan Tah and Kai Havertz. Tah made four appearances in the Europa League last season and Havertz made five. The offensive player scored four goals and provided two assists.
The German Football League (DFL) is continuing to work with the authorities for an early return of spectators this year. The DFL is "ready to take up binding discussions with the relevant political authorities (…). Based on facts, responsible graded solutions should be agreed according to the pandemic situation to allow implementation in November providing the level of infection allows it," was the declaration published on Friday. A summit of federal and state governments announced on Thursday that no spectators would be allowed in professional sport until at least the end of October and large-scale events where contact tracing and the maintenance of hygiene protocols are not possible will be forbidden until at least the end of the year. The DFL sees "no fundamental reason for the denial" of games with spectators in the Bundesliga and second division.
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.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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