The then Austria goalkeeper joined Bayer 04 from FC Ingolstadt in 2016. As a reliable back-up keeper, ‘Rambo’ made eight appearances for the Werkself in the following four years at national and European level and the dream of playing in the Champions League became a reality in December 2016.
“Rambo can look back at an exceptional career. Here at Bayer 04, he has always been a valuable member of the goalkeeping set-up and the whole team,” said sporting director Simon Rolfes. “He encouraged the others with his professionalism and ambition and was a real team player off the pitch. He will be able to bring these qualities and his immense experience to his new role.
Özcan will mainly be involved with in coaching the youth keepers up to the U15s. “It’s a very attractive challenge. I’m looking forward to passing on my knowledge and my experience to the young people. And that at a club which has grown close to my heart over the years,” declared Özcan, whose playing career will end after the current Europa League campaign.
In 17 years as a professional footballer, the man from Vorarlberg played 292 games in the first and second divisions in Germany and Austria and also won ten caps for Austria. Özcan played for Austria Lustenau, RB Salzburg, 1899 Hoffenheim, Besiktas, FC Ingolstadt and Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
Barely two weeks since beating St. Pauli in the DFB Pokal quarter-finals, Bayer 04 again welcome the Hamburg club to the BayArena for Matchday 22 in the Bundesliga this Saturday (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The visitors received a welcome confidence boost last weekend with a win over VfB Stuttgart, but the head-to-head record is still very much in Leverkusen’s favour, which Kasper Hjulmand’s team will look to maintain. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-1 win against FC Köln on the 18th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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In preparation for the Bundesliga home match against FC St. Pauli on Saturday, 14 February (kick-off: 15:30 CET), the Werkself had a full week of training for the first time since the first match in 2026. At the press conference ahead of the clash against the relegation-threatened Kiezkicker, coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the intensive work during the week and the lessons learnt. The Dane also announced the good news that Ibrahim Maza is available again.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are strengthening the squad for next season with the addition of Serbia U19 international Aleksa Damjanovic. The 17-year-old centre-forward is set to join the Bundesliga club in the summer from Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade. Damjanovic, who also has Austrian citizenship, has signed a long-term contract.
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