Paulinho and Co. played the Paraguay U23 side on Saturday 1 February as part of the fourth and final matchday in Group B. The Bayer 04 forward came off the bench on 68 minutes and made it 1-1 seven minutes later. The 19-year-old led the way for his team to win 2-1 with central striker Pepe (Gremio Porto Alegre) scoring the winner on 89 minutes.
The Brazilian youngsters picked up maximum points and the Argentina U23 team did likewise in the parallel group. The Colombia and Uruguay U23 teams finished second in the groups. These four teams now play each other from 4 to 10 February for the two places at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo that are allocated to the South American association CONMEBOL.
The Finn is at the top. Bayer 04 goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky pulled level with Yann Sommer (Borussia Mönchengladbach) on the last matchday – in the table of the goalkeepers with the highest marks according to the kicker sports journal. Hradecky and Sommer have an average mark of 2.73. In third place is Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer (2.80).
Moussa Diaby was really flying in the first month of the year. For his impressive performance in January, where the Frenchman scored one goal and provided two assists in three games, the Bayer 04 player has been nominated for the Bundesliga Rookie of the Month. In addition to the 20-year-old, Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) and Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig) have also been nominated. Fans can cast their votes at www.rookie-award.com/de.
The ‘kicker meets DAZN - the football podcast’ is in its 22nd edition. Simon Rolfes, the former Werkself player and now sporting director at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, was the guest of presenters Alex Schlüter and Benni Zander last Wednesday at SPOBIS 2020. The 38-year-old talked about his time after ending his playing career, discussions with Rudi Völler and working as a TV pundit. The podcast is available on the kicker and DAZN websites as well as usual podcast platforms.
The Werkself play VfB Stuttgart in the DFB Cup Round of 16 on Wednesday 5 February. The kick-off at the BayArena is at 18.30 CET. Tickets are still available for the game. They are available online via the ticket web shop, by phone Bayer the service centre (0049 (0) 214 5000 1904) or by visiting the Bayer 04 fan shops.
The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
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The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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The Bundesliga is back. On Saturday 29 August (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself are away to SV 07 Elversberg on matchday 1 of the new season. Ahead of the clash at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about the importance of a successful start and the motivation of the league newcomers from the Saarland.
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On Friday afternoon, it will be decided which eight of the 36 participating teams Bayer 04 will face in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in 2026/27. At the draw in Monaco (live on UEFA.com), the Werkself will be drawn against two teams from each of the four pots, allocated according to the UEFA club coefficient. A match against an opponent from the same country is ruled out, as is facing more than two clubs from the same national association. Here’s a look at the pots and potential opponents.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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