Julian Baumgartlinger and Vlad Yurchenko, who were due to play World Cup qualifiers for their national sides the night before, are expected back on Thursday. Coach Heiko Herrlich misses two players due to injury as he prepares for the third Bundesliga matchday: Tin Jedvaj is in rehab after suffering a hairline fracture to his shin. And new signing Panos Retsos, who arrived in Leverkusen on Tuesday, is working on his own in the Werkstatt as he recovers from a blow to his right knee playing for his country.
Retsos had to miss the first session with his new team-mates. Instead he took time out in the afternoon to face questions from members of the written and radio media. The 19-year-old commented…
...on his decision to join Bayer 04:
"It's a great honour for me to play for a club like Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The club has always played in the Champions League in recent years and is one of the big clubs. It was important for me and my development to take the next step at a club like this. I spoke to Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Konstantinos Stafylidis (former Bayer 04 players) to find out more about Bayer 04. Papa only had good things to say and he told me it's like a family here and the club places great value in young players. That was very important for me and it encouraged me a lot."
...on the Bundesliga:
"The Bundesliga is one of the best leagues in the world. I'm really happy I can play here in spite of my young age. After the Bundesliga players Papadopoulos (Hamburg SV), Staflidis (FC Augsburg) and Sokratis (Borussia Dortmund) told me about the league when they were with the national team, I definitely wanted to come here."
...on his favourite position:
"I played in several positions at Olympiakos last season. It wasn't that easy. For me personally and for my development the most important thing is to play regularly – it doesn't matter whether it’s in the centre or the right at the back or in holding midfield. I feel most at home in central defence but I don't have any problem with playing at left back. The main thing is I can get to play.
...on possible selection for Saturday:
"I took a blow to the right knee in the World Cup qualifier against Estonia. It's not a bad injury but after talking to the doctors we didn't want to take any risks so I’ve eased off for a couple of days. That's why I worked on my own in the gym today but I hope to back with the rest of the team in the next few days. We'll have to see if that will be enough for Saturday’s game against Mainz."
...on leaving Greece:
"The last training sessions with my old team-mates at Olympiakos and the farewell were sad moments for me – I'd spent ten or eleven years at the club. And the day I flew out was very emotional: A lot of my friends were at the airport to say goodbye. But along with the tears there were a whole load of happy feelings because I very much looked forward to taking the next step and moving to Leverkusen."
...on his first impressions at Bayer 04:
My first impressions have been fantastic: The stadium is great and the same applies to the different training facilities. Even though the facilities at Olympiakos were very good, it's a completely different level here."
...on his targets:
"I'd like to become a better player – at Bayer 04 I'll be playing with very good team-mates and in the Bundesliga I'll be up against other top players. I want to take the next step here and I hope I'll develop into a leading player."
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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