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 host 1. FC Köln at the BayArena in the final home game of 2025 . Today’s match on Saturday, 13 December kicks off at 18:30.30 pm. The Werkself are looking for three points against 1. FC Köln, who are without a win in four games but they do have a shooting star in their ranks up front. The Bayer 04 Volunteering Award will be presented at the derby against the club from Cologne and another fan club will be honoured for many years of loyalty under the Cross. The matchday news.
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The German Football Association (DFB) has officially recognised Bayer 04 as a women’s talent support centre. As announced by the DFB, 1 FC Köln, Union Berlin, RB Leipzig and Hamburger SV are also certified as performance or talent support centres from 1 January 2026 in addition to the Werkself.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 0-1 loss at Werder Bremen on the 13th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 Women suffered a setback at the halfway point of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga. In a battle of the chasing pack between the teams in third and fourth, coach Roberto Pätzold's side lost 1-0 at SV Werder Bremen in a physical contest. The result leaves the Werkself on 22 points after 13 matchdays and now four points behind Bremen.
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The Bayer 04 U19s will face Villarreal CF in Spain in the 2025/26 UEFA Youth League round of 16. That was the result of the draw made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday afternoon.
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