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:
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Minas Hantzidis was born on 4 July 1966 in Kettwig, near Essen, and he grew up in Germany. He developed a passion for football at a young age and, whilst still a youth player, moved from Wuppertaler SV to Bayer 04. The attacking and goal-scoring midfielder then made a name for himself in his first senior season at Bayer 04. In the reserve team, he scored goal after goal in the first half of the season, soon began training with the first team and was brought on as a substitute for the first time by manager Erich Ribbeck on 22 November 1985 in a home match against Bayern Munich.
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Sascha was born on 3 July 1986 in Leverkusen. He is the son of former Bundesliga 2 player Manfred Dum, who mainly scored goals for Union Solingen but also played for FC Saarbrücken, SC Freiburg and Wuppertaler SV. Sascha started playing for the youth teams at HSV Langenfeld at an early age. There, he caught the eye of scouts from Bayer 04 and joined the club at a young age. Following a growth spurt in the U15 team, which forced him to take a nine-month break, the left-footed player finally had the ideal conditions to establish himself in the Bayer 04 youth ranks. Even as an U17 player, he made the leap into the U19 team. Blessed with immense pace, Sascha primarily played in attacking midfield. Not the most technically gifted, but possessing a powerful shot, he found himself training with the first team in the summer of 2005 alongside Gonzalo Castro, while he was still a U19 player.
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