From aspiring youth talent to Bundesliga first team regular: Florian Wirtz became a favourite for everybody who supports Bayer 04 last season at the age of just 18. The versatile forward provided eight goals and eight assists in 38 games. He also became a European Champion with the Germany U21s in the summer. These stats plus his inimitable dribbling and clever passes have secured Wirtz a place in the list of nominations for the Golden Boy Award.
The award by the Italian sports journal Tuttosport for the most promising U21 talent worldwide is very well respected. Also in the vote alongside Wirtz are eleven other Bundesliga players and the list contains 100 U21 talents. Tuttosport have presented the Golden Boy Award since 2003 and previous winners include Lionel Messi (2005), Mario Götze (2011), Kylian Mbappe (2017) and the most recently Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland.
Kai Havertz and Kevin Volland could hardly have found a better phone a friend alternative. The former Leverkusen players took part in a YouTube based ‘DFB EURO taxi’ that included answering quiz questions. But the Germany players did not have a clue about the question of who was the host country for the 1972 European Championship.
They immediately made use of their phone a friend option – as they called up Rudi Völler. The Bayer 04 sporting managing director obviously leapt at the chance of supporting the former charges. Although the 61-year-old was sitting in his favourite restaurant and had a glass of wine, he naturally knew the right answer: "Belgium". It's good to have such experienced friends...
From the first team to the youth talents: The Bayer 04 U17s start the Leverkusen weekend of friendlies. The team under Jan Hoepner and Thomas Zdebel play the U19 team of Fortuna Köln on Saturday, 19 June. The kick-off at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre is at 11.00 CEST.
That is followed the next day by the U13 team playing Jugendsport Wenau at 11.00 CEST. The oldest year group at Bayer 04, the U19s, face TuS Koblenz on Tuesday night, 22 June (kick-off: 19.00 CEST). Both of those friendlies will also be played at Kurtekotten.
Finally, we have put together a few social media highlights for you. Enjoy the following formats, short videos and photos:
Bayer 04 will be preparing young talents for a potential sporting career in an even more systematic way in future. The club is breaking new ground to help develop their academic, social and personal skills as well. With the ‘Haus der Talente' or 'Talent House’, Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH is creating a new centre for the development of young athletes in a central location in Leverkusen. Once completed – expected to be in the summer of 2027 – the project will be run in partnership with TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen e.V.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-3 loss against Werder Bremen on the 26th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 Women have finished in fifth place after the best Bundesliga season in the club's history in terms of points. Roberto Pätzold's side went down 3-1 at home to SV Werder Bremen on the final matchday. With 46 points and 15 wins, they've bettered the previous record campaign of 2024/25. Despite periods of pressure, Cornelia Kramer's 73rd-minute strike was not enough at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion, and the Werkself miss out on European qualification despite a strong end to the season.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a conract extension with home-grown talent Sofie Zdebel by a further year ahead of schedule. The 21-year-old Germany U23 international will stay at the club until 30 June 2028.
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