The two Werkself youngsters Florian Wirtz and Lennart Grill are through to the final of the U21 European championship with the Germany U21s. The team under head coach Stefan Kuntz beat the Netherlands 2-1 in the semi-finals on Thursday. The man of the match on the night was Bayer 04 midfielder Wirtz who first set the record for the fastest goal in the history of the U21 European Championships with the opener on 29 seconds and then doubled his tally just seven minutes later with a clinical finish to make it 2-0.
Rudi Völler, Bayer 04 sporting managing director, revealed to BILD that he was impressed after the Wirtz gala performance: "The first goal opened up the game and set Florian on his way. And his trap and control of the ball were wonderful for the second goal. That's why he's already at such a high level at the age of 18."
Simon Rolfes also found positive words for the work rate of the 18-year-old: "Flo puts in an incredible amount of running in every game. Sometimes a lot of metres are in vain. But you have to make those runs," said the Bayer 04 sporting director. And from the ranks of the senior Germany team there was also compliments from an old friend for the youngster from Pulheim – former Werkself player and newly crowned Champions League winner Kai Havertz said Florian had produced an "outstanding performance."
By reaching the final, the two Bayer 04 players are following in the footsteps of Gonzalo Castro (2009) and Jonathan Tah (2019) who also reached the final of the U21 European Championship with Germany.
The Kuntz team play Portugal on Sunday, 6 June (kick-off: 21.00 CEST) after they knocked out Spain with a 1-0 victory in the other semi-final on Thursday night. Our number 27 is determined ahead of the final and he said he "wants to win the tournament as well."
Two Werkself players also met on the international stage on the South American continent today (Friday). In the qualifier for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar, Chile with Charles Aránguiz, who played for 86 minutes, faced Argentina. Exequiel Palacios came on for the two-time World Cup winners on 81 minutes – that was the comeback for our number 25 after recovering from a groin injury. The clash of the Bayer 04 midfielders ended all square at 1-1 with goals from Lionel Messi (24') and Alexis Sánchez (36'). Lucas Alario, who suffered a muscle injury in his right thigh in the season run-in with the Werkself, was not in the 'Albiceleste' squad.
The Bender brothers documentary - 'BENDER – Die Unzertrennlichen' – put out on Bayer 04 TV on 27 May has already proved to a complete success. Over 112,000 people have already watched the documentary homage to the two Werkself players Lars and Sven Bender, who hung up their boots at the end of the 2020/21 season, on YouTube.
There has also been recognition from other German clubs. 1860 Munich commented on the documentary on the Bayer 04 YouTube channel with the following words: "The documentary is a MUST for every Lions fan. Thank you Bayer 04!" And VfL Wolfsburg also showed their respect: "After the Havertz work, the next big step in terms of documentaries on club TV. You are setting the standards! Hats off!"
Anybody wishing to see the film again can watch the documentary HERE.
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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