In the vote for the Newcomer of the Season held by the VDV players union, Florian Wirtz came out on top with 21% of the votes to pick up the 'Silver Arrow' award as the best young player in the 2021/22 Bundesliga season. Our number 27 beat some stiff competition: In second place was the new Dortmund player Nico Schlotterbeck (16%) and third place went to Jamal Musiala of Bayern Munich (15%).
And that's not all: The 19-year-old also made it into the VDV Bundesliga team. Together with teammate Patrik Schick (36%), Wirtz (37%) was named in the VDV 11 of the current season. Also in the side: Mark Flekken (SC Freiburg, 24%), David Raum (1899 Hoffenheim, 32% ), Nico Schlotterbeck (SC Freiburg, 80%), Niklas Süle (Bayern München, 31%), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich, 52%), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund, 47%), Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig, 68%), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, 84%) and Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund, 35%).
The VDV team is decided by votes from all players in the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2, League 3 and the Regional Leagues plus all other VDV members entitled to vote.
The BILD tabloid has produced a top 50 of all former and current players at the 18 Bundesliga clubs. The Brazilian Lucio came out top for the Werkself. The powerful defender stood out with his leadership qualities and his uncompromising challenges. The 2002 World Cup winner made 122 appearances for the Black and Reds from January 2001 to July 2004.
The highest placed Werkself player from the current Leverkusen first team squad is Florian Wirtz. The 19-year-old is in tenth place and he makes it into the top 11 of all time – alongside Bayer 04 honorary captains Ulf Kirsten, Rüdiger Vollborn and Bernd Schneider.
Bayer 04 congratulate Thomas Zdebel: The youth coach today celebrates his 49th birthday. The former Poland international joined Leverkusen from TV Herkenrath as a U17 coach in 2019 after having played for the Werkself from January 2009 to the summer of 2010. He wore the Bayer 04 shirt for 18 months in twelve Bundesliga matches, one DFB Cup game for the Black and Reds and he was also in the side that made it to the DFB Cup final in 2009. Zdebel is still playing for the Werkself Veterans team. Many happy returns, Thomas.
Samed Yesil today celebrates his 28th birthday. The German-Turkish centre-forward progressed through all the Werkself youth teams before joining Liverpool for the 2012/13 season. The central striker went on to play for FC Luzern, Panionios, Ankara Demirspor, KFC Uerdingen and VfB Homberg. The six foot tall striker from Düsseldorf is currently playing for the Oberliga club DJK St. Tönis. Many happy returns.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen has a new coffee partner. The club has agreed a long-term partnership with the Bocholt-based roastery Imping, running to 30 June 2031. The exclusive partnership with the family-run business includes the installation of fully automatic coffee machines at the BayArena, as well as the right to supply and serve coffee products in the business areas during Werkself home games.
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Plenty going on both on and off the pitch: The Bayer 04 fan support team has organised a number of highlights for fans visiting the Werkself 2026/27 summer training camp in Blankenhain, in the Weimarer Land region. Registration for the events is now open. All the details at a glance.
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The Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women’s team and s2-Software are continuing their long-term partnership: The Werkself and the provider of pre-owned Microsoft licences have extended their contract by two years to 2028. This means s2-Software will remain the Bayer 04 sleeve sponsor for all matches in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga.
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BIOGENA is the new performance partner for the Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women’s team. Under a partnership initially set to run for three years, the club and the leading Austrian micronutrient company are pooling their expertise in the areas of health, fitness and top-level performance.
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100 children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy had the chance to gain exclusive insights: As part of the summer camp, the young footballers headed inside the BayArena at midday on Tuesday, 21 July, where they were due to meet Werkself keepers Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch in the press conference room. The two players took plenty of time to answer every question from the inquisitive audience – whether it was about their own careers or their first impressions of the new head coach. Finally, there was even time left to sign autographs for the young fans.
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