The recent Euros and their effect on German football, youth development at the clubs, financial models in competition with international rivals but, above all, the targets and mutual expectations of the Bundesliga 2 clubs Fortuna Düsseldorf and FC Köln and the top-flight sides Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer 04 were the most important of many subjects on an informative and entertaining evening. Under the guidance of RP editors Jannik Sorgatz and Gianni Costa, Fortuna Düsseldorf’s Klaus Allofs, FC Köln’s Christian Keller, Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Roland Virkus and Simon Rolfes took part in a roundtable discussion dealing with lots of matters succinctly but also with humour.
To what extent predictions and expectations can be met will start to be evident on Friday in the Bundesliga when Borussia Mönchengladbach entertain the champions of Germany, DFB Pokal and Supercup winners Bayer 04 in the first game of the new league campaign with the kick off at 20.30 CEST.
Photo: Andreas Bretz
From the 2027/28 season, the Women’s Bundesliga will be organised by an independent league association. Following the unanimous decision taken at the DFB Bundestag (national conference) on Friday afternoon, the league’s separation from the DFB is now official.
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Following the Bundesliga clash against RB Leipzig (Sunday, 20 September, 15:30 CEST), some of the Werkself first team players will be heading off for the first international break of the season. Here is an overview of the Bayer 04 players called up for their national teams and all the details of their upcoming matches.
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A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Werkself were feeling quite satisfied following their 2–0 home win in their opening match of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League, particularly with the result. At the same time, players and coaches agreed that, in terms of their performance, there was “still room for improvement”, as Robert Andrich put it. For his part, Moussa Diaby emphasised the importance of the victory with which the team had kicked off the campaign, and spoke personally about how good it felt to have started in front of the “wonderful” Bayer 04 fans this Tuesday evening for the first time since his return. The Werkself review of the Europa League opener.
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