Born and raised in the Paris suburb of Bondy, Axel Tape played for FC 93 Bobigny until the age of 12. Then in summer 2020, nearby top club Paris Saint-Germain came calling.
The technically gifted, fast and versatile Tape progressed through all the youth ranks at the current French treble winners. In the season just gone, he primarily featured for the PSG U19 side and started in every UEFA Youth League match.
The 1.80-metre-tall youngster also got his first taste of senior football in the 2024/25 campaign. Having been included in Luis Enrique's squad for the first time in November, he made his debut in the Coupe de France in January, starting in the centre of defence alongside Lucas Hernandez.
After this successful professional debut, Tape also got the chance to impress at the end of the Ligue 1 season, playing 90 minutes at centre-back in both the 2-1 defeat to Racing Strasbourg on Matchday 32 and the 4-1 win over Montpellier HSC on Matchday 33.
As well as the treble of the Champions League, league and cup for the first team, Tape also celebrated the French U19 championship at the end of the season. He and his team-mates beat FC Nantes 2-1 in the final last weekend.
Bayer 04 managing director sport Simon Rolfes considers the French U18 international "a versatile defensive player, a good footballer with pace, athleticism and a sharp reading of the game. We see great potential in Axel."
An independent playing philosophy, full-time coaches and the long-term objective of the first-team squad: With a new structure in the junior women's section, Bayer 04 are aiming to achieve recognition as an official DFB talent support centre in Women's football in the 2025/26 season. The key preconditions have already been met. Bayer04.de provides an overview of the new structure in the junior women's teams at the Werkself.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen and the leading gardening equipment manufacturer STIGA have extended their successful partnership. As an official partner in the Sponsors Club of the Champions League participants, STIGA has already provided support to the Bayer 04 ground staff in the maintenance of the pitch at the BayArena as well as the other club training grounds. Under the new agreement, the company, based in Straelen in North Rhine Westphalia, has agreed a two-year extension with the current Bundesliga runners-up and 2024 double winners. The contract now runs to 30 June 2027.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of the 2-0 victory in the friendly match against VfL Bochum 1848...
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Bayer 04 claimed a commanding 2-0 victory in their second 2025/26 pre-season friendly at VfL Bochum 1848. In front of a crowd of over 15,000 at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion, Jonas Hofmann and Patrik Schick netted the goals before the break against the Bundesliga relegated team.
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VfL Bochum is the first opponent following the return of the Werkself from the ten day training camp in Rio de Janeiro. The match against the team relegated from the Bundesliga, which is the season opener for the hosts, is on Sunday, 27 July at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion with the kick-off at 18:00 CEST. Werkself-TVs shows the match outside of Germany, Austria and Switzerland in it´s entirety live and free starting from 17.50 CEST...
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