He was already the Bundesliga Player of the Month, could be the North Rhine-Westphalia Player of the Year – and since this week is one of the best U21 players in the world: Florian Wirtz. The 18-year-old playmaker with the Werkself finished in an impressive seventh place in the Kopa Trophy awards from the French sports newspaper France Football.
The Spanish player Pedri was presented as the winner at the Ballon d'Or awards. The Barcelona striker follows on from Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus) who won the trophy in 2019.
Florian Wirtz dropped out late on for the away game in Berlin (1-1) at the start of November due to hip problems and he then went on to take a ten-day break from training. "That did him good," said head coach Gerardo Seoane. "We are glad that was possible."
A decision that has been positive with regard to the performances of the talented youngster. In the 1-0 win against VfL Bochum, our number 27 stood out with a lot of involvement in attacking moves. The 18-year-old then went on to demonstrate his effectiveness in the final third in the victories against Celtic (two assists from Wirtz) and at Leipzig (one goal).
What many people do not know was that the midfielder was not on the pitch with his teammates in between the games against Bochum and Celtic. Seoane: "We were extremely careful. It was important to reduce his workload as much as possible." Wirtz primarily completed individual sessions at the BayArena to spare his hip. "The issue isn't finished," the Swiss coach. "But it's positive that we have a week until the next game." There is confidence that Wirtz will be able to make it through to the winter break due to the reduced training programme.
Immediately after winning the DFB Cup, Bayer 04 signed a certain Paulo Sergio in the summer of 1993. Brought over from the Brazilian club Corinthians São Paulo, he remained with the Werkself for four years. The striker won the World Cup with Brazil in that time and made 121 Bundesliga appearances for the Werkself. He provided ten assists and scored an impressive 47 goals – one of those was voted Goal of the Month in November 1996.
Sergio scored on 66 minutes in the home game against FC Köln to make it 3-0 (final score 4-2). HERE is the goal from the Brazilian on video.
Today's birthday boy Marcus Feinbier joined the Bayer 04 U19s in the summer of 1986 from his hometown of Berlin. The centre forward became a first-team player at the Werkself and won the UEFA Cup with the Black and Reds in 1988. Feinbier played 69 games in the Bundesliga for Leverkusen (three goals) before moving on to Hertha Berlin in 1992. Many happy returns on your 52nd birthday, Marcus.
Alejo Sarco has left Bayer 04 Leverkusen to join Sporting Gijón in Spain’s second division. Bayer 04 have secured a buy-back clause for the 20-year-old Argentine striker, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed 16-year-old midfield prospect Gabriel Minutillo on a long-term contract. The Germany youth international will play for the U19s this season.
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Bayer 04 preparations for the 2026/27 season are in full swing, with the first friendly now under their belts. Although there are still around seven weeks to go until the first Bundesliga home game in early September, there is already huge anticipation for the start of competitive action for head coach Carles Martínez’s team at the BayArena. For the Bundesliga home matches of the new season, here is the latest information regarding the first phase of single-match ticket sales. The tried-and-tested early-bird phase remains in place. From 23 to 31 July, tickets for matches will go on sale on weekdays; the early-bird phase ends on 5 August at the latest – provided tickets are still available by then.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir for the time being.
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