Our number 11 made 39 appearances for the Werkself last season and the Ludwigshafen-born player was directly involved in 14 goals. After five full international appearances for Germany in Euro qualifiers and international friendlies, the 2017 U21 European Champion is set to play in the Olympic football tournament in Japan. As one of the three players allowed to be over 23 years old, Nadiem Amiri will assume a leadership role in the DFB squad.
The Germany Olympic squad under U21 national coach Stefan Kuntz play the title holders Brazil (kick-off: 13.30 CEST) in the group stage on 22 July, a day before the official opening of the Olympic Games. Saudi Arabia are the next opponents three days later (kick-off: 13.30 CEST). Germany's last match in the race for a quarter-final slot is on 28 July against the Ivory Coast (kick-off: 10.00 CEST) in the final group game.
In addition to Amiri, another Werkself player is included in his country's Olympic team. There will be a head-to-head in Group D when Germany with Amiri face Brazil with Bayer 04 offensive player Paulinho.
To date the men's and women's footballers at Bayer 04 have collected a complete set of medals. In the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul (South Korea), Thomas Hörster and Christian Schreier on bronze for Germany. In 2016 there was silver for Lars Bender and Julian Brandt and Sven Bender within the team under coach Horst Hrubesch for the defeat in the final. Annike Krahn was a winner that year. The Bayer 04 defender was in the Germany team under coach Silvia Neid that beat Sweden 2-1 in the final. Krahn ended her international career after that and a year later hung up her boots at club level.
Sandwiched between their UEFA Champions League knockout play-off tie against Olympiacos, Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action on Saturday with a trip to Union Berlin (kick-off: 15:30 CET). It’s a fixture of contrasting styles, with Leverkusen preferring to control the play while Union look to remain compact and counter. The Berliners are therefore suited to facing top teams, but they have only ever managed to win one of 16 meetings with the Werkself, who are looking for a fifth clean sheet of 2026 but will need to beware the home side’s threat from set pieces. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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After six wins in seven games, the Werkself will be looking to continue their winning run in the capital at FC Union Berlin. Coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke ahead of the match on Saturday, 21 February (kick-off: 15:30 CET) about defenders, the short preparation time and the condition of the pitch at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
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Union Berlin have performed particularly well against the top clubs in the Bundesliga this season with a draw at home to Bayern Munich and wins against VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig. This Saturday, 21 February (kick-off: 15:30 CET), the Irons now welcome the Werkself, currently sixth in the table, to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. And the hosts are in desperate need of a win. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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It took exactly 60 minutes for the Werkself to take the lead through a perfectly finished counter-attack by Patrik Schick in the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off at Olympiacos. Referring to the meeting in the league phase and the initially squandered opportunities, coach Kasper Hjulmand said afterwards: "I thought: 'Oh no, déjà-vu.'" But after the opening goal, it took just 144 seconds for the Czech to spark more wild celebrations among those in black and red in the Greek cauldron, when Schick nodded in Alejandro Grimaldo's corner. Much to the delight of the Bayer 04 fans, his teammates and his coach, who had warm words for the striker in the aftermath. The Werkself Review.
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