The video game manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA) in association with the German football league (DFL) announced the six nominations for the vote a few weeks ago. Werkself striker Patrik Schick came out on top against prestigious opposition in the month of December: Robert Lewandowski, Serge Gnabry (both Bayern Munich), Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig), Jesper Lindström (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Nico Schlotterbeck (SC Freiburg) were all nominated in addition to the Czech Republic international.
The Werkself number 14 scored an impressive eight goals in the four Bundesliga matches in the month, including his contribution as the first Werkself player ever to score four goals in Germany's top flight in the 7-1 victory over Greuther Fürth. Schick scored the other goals – two braces – against Eintracht Frankfurt (2-5) and TSG Hoffenheim (2-2).
Entitled to vote were the team captains of the 18 Bundesliga clubs (30% of the vote), a selected panel of pundits consisting of Bundesliga legends and media representatives (30%) plus fans from across the world with the biggest share of the vote (40%). Fans submitted their votes via the EA SPORTS FIFA 19 Website and were able to choose the performances of the Bundesliga players that most impressed them in that month.
Youngster Florian Wirtz won the vote for Player of the Month in September. The Werkself are the first team to have two winners in the current 2021/22 season.
The official award has been presented since the 2018/19 season. Schick's trophy is already the sixth to make its way to Leverkusen.
All Bayer 04 Players of the Month to date:
Bayer 04 host Borussia Mönchengladbach at the BayArena on matchday 12 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The schedule for the game remains to be confirmed. The latest information on ticket sales.
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Bayer 04 host Eintracht Frankfurt at the BayArena on matchday 14 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The schedule for the game remains to be confirmed. The latest information on ticket sales.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the women's DFB-Pokal 2026/27
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“As far as mentality and determination are concerned, we have nothing to reproach ourselves for,” Robert Andrich said up after the first home defeat for the Werkself this term. In terms of their play, too, the Black and Reds put in a respectable performance for long stretches of this intense and physical match, outperforming VfB Stuttgart in most areas. It was only in terms of efficiency in front of goal that the Swabians had the edge over the Werkself. Head coach Carles Martínez wants to learn from this so that, in future, they can “win this sort of match too”. The Werkself review.
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Thomas Hörster was born in Essen on 27 November 1956. As a child, he took part in high diving and judo, but was also passionate about football. After starting out at Blau-Weiß Holsterhausen-Essen, he moved on to ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen. As a U19 player, he trained with the senior side for the first time. And at just under 18 years of age, Thommy – as he is known – made his debut in Bundesliga 2. Over two-and-a-half seasons, he made 71 appearances for Schwarz-Weiß Essen.
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