The former Bayer 04 player was with the Black and Reds for nine years before moving from Leverkusen to Venice ahead of the current 2022/23 season. In the current campaign in the Italian second division, the centre forward has scored seven goals and provided four assists to date. That makes the 28-year-old the top striker and best provider for FCV. In the 2-2 draw against Parma on Boxing Day, the Finland international scored to make it 2-1 (70') and eight minutes later laid on the assist for the equaliser scored by teammate Nicolas Pierini.
Bayer 04 keeper Lukas Hradecky will meet two other finish fellow countrymen in addition to Pohjanpalo on Saturday in the Venezia goalkeeper duo of Jesse Joronen and Niki Mäenpää. Also in the Venezia squad: Michaël Cuisance. The French midfielder move from Bayern Munich to Italy in the winter of last year.
The Black and Greens have been coached by Paolo Vanoli since November of last year. The 50-year-old was working as a technical coach for the Italy team and was previously assistant coach to Antonio Conte at Chelsea between 2017 and 2018.
Following relegation from Serie A last season, Pohjanpalo and Co. are currently seventeenth in Serie B. The friendly against the Alonso team provides a warm-up ahead of the return to league action on Monday 16 January. The opponents then are third-placed Genoa CFC, the former club of Bayer 04 player Nadiem Amiri.
Tickets are still available for the match against the ‘Leoni Alati’ (‘The Winged Lions’). Match tickets are available HERE.
Bayer 04 will broadcast the game against the club from Italy live on Werkself TV and YouTube. Niko Hartmann will provide live commentary for Werkself Radio.
The Werkself will host VfB Stuttgart at the BayArena on matchday 16 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The game is on Saturday, 10 January, at 18:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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The Werkself will host Werder Bremen at the BayArena on matchday 19 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The game is on Saturday, 24 January, at 15:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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In the sixth and final match of the league phase of the UEFA Youth League 2025/26, the Bayer 04 U19s have a great opportunity to advance to the knockout phase of Europe’s most prestigious youth competition for the first time. To achieve that under their own steam, they will need a win against Newcastle United at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 14:00 CET/ free admission). In an interview with bayer04.de, managing director sport Simon Rolfes analyses the team's performances so far and their special situation. And the 43-year-old reveals what he would be happy to do without on the day of the match.
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The next opponents in the 2025/26 DFB Pokal have been announced: Bayer 04 will host Bundesliga rivals FC St. Pauli in the quarter-finals. That was the outcome of the draw held this Sunday evening, 7 December, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund, where long-time Bundesliga player and coach Friedhelm Funkel made the draw. The Werkself will play their quarter-final tie on 3-4 or 10-11 February 2026. The exact dates have yet to be finalised.
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After falling behind early on, Bayer 04 took control of the game against a combative and disciplined FC Augsburg on Saturday afternoon. However, they lacked the necessary precision in finishing and hit the post and crossbar three times. After the game, coach Kasper Hjulmand said he wanted to get back to the "right philosophy" of previous matches with three games left in 2025. The Werkself review.
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