New Year with light and shade
On the back of a few days rest, the Werkself look to get back on track in the New Year following the unlucky last-minute defeat against FC Bayern – that is only partially successful in spite of all the effort. A 2-1 loss against Eintracht Frankfurt in the first match of 2021, a draw with Werder Bremen (1-1) plus another setback against FC Union Berlin (0-1) ensures a run of four games without a win. Nevertheless, the team under Peter Bosz on 32 points pick up a 2-1 win against Borussia Dortmund on matchday 17, with Florian Wirtz scoring the winner late-on, and are third in the table at the halfway stage behind FC Bayern (39 points) and RB Leipzig (35 points). Another bright spot in an otherwise miserable January in 2021: reaching the DFB Cup Round of 16. In spite of going 1-0 down early on and temporarily being a player short, Bayer 04 turn the second round tie against Eintracht Frankfurt round to win 4-1.
Reinforcement from Britain
Bayer 04 make three moves in the transfer market in the winter transfer window. Jeremie Frimpong (Celtic), Demarai Gray (Leicester City) plus Timothy Fosu-Mensah (Manchester United) sign for Leverkusen to strengthen the squad.
Contrasting fortunes
The fact that runs not only produce joy and feelings of happiness but also have a darker side was experienced by Bayer 04 at the start of the second half of the season. Between matchdays 18 and 26, Peter Bosz and his team only pick up two wins in Germany’s top flight – the 5-2 home win on matchday 20 against VfB Stuttgart with three assists from winger Moussa Diaby along with the hard-earned 1-0 victory at Borussia Mönchengladbach was one of the few convincing performances by the Werkself.
Turn three into one
The Black and Reds fare no better in the other competitions: First comes the exit from the DFB Cup at the start of February in a 2-1 defeat after extra time against Regional League Rot-Weiss Essen, then the Werkself lose twice in the Europa League Round of 16 to Young Boys Bern coached by Gerardo Seoane 3-4 and 0-2 – a season that started with such promise threatens to end in disappointment. The target for the season in the remaining competition of the Bundesliga is European qualification.
Wolf replaces Bosz
The Leverkusen management set about that without the previous head coach. After the exits from the cup competitions and mixed fortunes in the second half of the Bundesliga season, Bayer 04 react to the 2-1 home defeat against Arminia Bielefeld and the 3-0 loss at Hertha Berlin on matchday 26 by parting company with Peter Bosz. His successor Hannes Wolf is brought in from the DFB on loan to take charge of the team to the end of the season along with Miguel Moreira and Bayer 04 legend Peter Hermann. That is designed to provide a boost for the Werkself in the race for European qualification.
The Golden Boy Top 100 traditionally lists Europe’s most promising young players. In the latest update, published to mark the start of the new season, four current Werkself players – alongside loanee Francis Onyeka – feature on the list. This means Bayer 04 have the most players in contention of any Bundesliga club.
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Goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe will continue to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen next season. The loan of the Germany U23 international, who joined from Liverpool in the winter, has been extended by a further year.
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The Bayer 04 delegation, led by Fernando Carro, CEO, concluded their multi-day trip to Brazil with a visit to the community-based organisation Bola Pra Frente in Rio de Janeiro – founded by former Werkself player Jorginho. During the visit, Bayer 04 committed to extending support for the Bola Pra Frente project for a further five years. In addition, Jorginho, a member of the Brazil 1994 World Cup-winning squad, was named Bayer 04’s second official club legend. With the visit to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the club has strengthened the relationships built up over the years in one of Bayer 04’s most important international markets.
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Ten years after retiring as a player, Kristina Sundov is returning to the Bayer 04 Women’s team as assistant coach. The 39-year-old former Croatia international takes over from Remzi Kahraman, who has taken up a new challenge abroad. She has been given a contract to 30 June 2028.
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The training pitches at the BayArena are already buzzing with activity again, even before training officially begins next week. On Monday morning, a small group from the Werkself first-team squad completed a session lasting around an hour. Both new and familiar faces were present.
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