Lowdown on the opponents:
The Dutch club FC Utrecht are currently sixth in the Eredivisie. There are currently two Germans at Utrecht: Leon Guwara, formerly a player in the Bundesliga with SV Darmstadt, and Rico Strieder, who went through the youth ranks at FC Bayern for 12 years and played one game for the first team: He was left-back for the full 90 minutes in the 2-0 defeat for the record champions at Bayer 04 on 2 May 2015. Justin Hoogma is also part of the Utrecht squad this season on loan from Hoffenheim. The coach of the Dutch club is John van den Brom.
The van den Brom team have three games to play before the winter break starts. Utrecht visit Heracles Almelo on Sunday before playing FC Groningen in the second round of the Dutch cup competition four days later. FC Utrecht end 2019 with a league home game against Feyenoord.
FC St. Gallen, the reinvigorated big club from eastern Switzerland, have been managed by the German head coach Peter Zeigler since 2018. FC St. Gallen are in touch with the leading group in the Swiss Raiffeisen Super League with 35 points from 17 games behind reigning champions Young Boys Bern (37) and FC Basel (36). The fact St. Gallen are currently in third place is no coincidence as the team recently demonstrated. They have secured three 4-1 wins in the last three league games. That means the team coached by Zeigler, whose last job in Germany was at Stuttgarter Kickers over a decade ago in 2007, currently have the best attack in the league with 41 goals scored
There is also a German player at FC St. Gallen. Midfielder Lucas Görtler, who played for FC Utrecht last season, was signed by the Swiss club this summer and he was previously at FC Kaiserslautern from 2015 to 2017. FC St. Gallen have their last league game of the year on Saturday: They entertain fourth-placed FC Zürich.
A new signing for the U19s: Bayer 04 have signed winger Clinton Wilson from Schalke 04. The 18-year-old previously played for Leverkusen youth teams from January to June 2024.
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After eight years, Ida Daedelow is set to leave Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The 18-year-old, whose original contract was due to run to 2027, is joining second-division side VfL Bochum.
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As with the other youth teams (U16 to U19), Bayer 04 are also relying on familiar faces—some in new roles—and fresh impetus from the coaching staff for the 2026/27 season in the younger age groups. An overview of the U11 to U15 teams.
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The fans have spoken: Ibrahim Maza has been voted Bayer 04 men’s Player of the Season for 2025/26. The 20-year-old won the club’s annual poll with more than a third of the total votes. Vanessa Fudalla, for her part, has been voted Bayer 04 women’s Player of the Season for 2025/26 by the fans. For both Maza and Fudalla, the past season was their first playing for the Werkself.
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