Let's start our short tour round the world in the self-proclaimed homeland of football: England. The Premier League restarted in the middle of June. Bernd Leno would have been playing now for Arsenal in the Europa League campaign. However, the Germany goalkeeper suffered a knee injury in the 2-1 defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion and he had to be carried off the pitch – that brought an end to the season for the 28-year-old. After over half a decade at Bayer 04, Leno moved on to London in the summer of 2018 and up to his injury, he was the undisputed first choice keeper for Arsenal. Bayer 04 wish the Germany keeper a speedy recovery.
The best football player from South Korea in recent years not only lives in the same massive city as Leno but also shares the same target for the season: the Europa League. In contrast to the goalkeeper, Heung-Min Son will be able to help in this mission. Up to this point, the striker, who signed for Spurs from Leverkusen in 2015, has scored nine goals and provided 10 assists in 25 league games this term. The former Bayer 04 player is normally a starter under coach José Mourinho.
A Swiss player under a German coach in England: Josip Drmic has also been playing in England for a year but he has other concerns on the pitch compared with Leno and Son. The central striker, who was with the Werkself in 2014/15, now plays for Norwich City who are currently marooned at the bottom of the Premier League. With just 21 points from 33 games, Drmic (one goal this season), coach Daniel Farke and the other Canaries are set to be relegated from England's top flight.
Hakan Calhanoglu landed up 1,000 kilometres to the south in the summer of 2017. After three years at Leverkusen, the Turkey international decided to make the move to the Italian giants AC Milan. Calhanoglu and Co. are also playing again. The first clash for the Milan side after the enforced break due to the coronavirus pandemic came on 12 May – in the semi-final second leg of the Coppa Italia, the goalless draw against Juventus (first leg 1-1) meant the exit from the cup competition. That was followed by three wins and one draw in Serie A with Calhanoglu scoring twice. AC Milan are battling for a place in the Europa League and they appear to have found a new coach for next season. According to the Italian media, Ralf Rangnick is set to join the Rossonieri as coach and sporting director from August.
Europa League: This is also a target for Napoli, who can rely on the striking qualities of a former Black and Red player. This season, Arkadiusz Milik has scored in every second league match he has played in on average. Probably the most important goal from the Pole since the restart was in the final of the Coppa Italia. Milik helped Napoli beat Juve in the penalty shootout to win the cup. His time at Leverkusen between 2013 and 2015 was marked by loan periods at FC Augsburg and Ajax who went on to sign the fox in the box.
The next former Werkself player has been trying to prevent shots at goal from Calhanoglu and Milik in the Italian league. The former Leverkusen crowd favourite Giulio Donati (2013 to 2016 had Bayer 04) is back in his home country playing as a regular starter for Lecce after five months without a contract – previously the Italian played for FSV Mainz 05. However, the results have not been good for the southern Italian club since the restart: The relegation candidates have lost all their games.
Professional football also returned a few weeks ago in Russia. André Schürrle could have been back on the pitch. But the striker is currently struggling with an injury – and has been back in Germany since the start of the month. The 29-year-old has rejoined the Borussia Dortmund squad with his one-year loan at Spartak Moscow ending on 30 June. The future for the World Cup winner of 2014, who played four Leverkusen from 2011 to 2013, appears to be uncertain.
Two years after Schürrle left Leverkusen, André Ramalho joined Bayer 04 from Salzburg. After one season for the Black and Reds, Bayer 04 loaned out the central defender to Mainz and in January 2018 the Brazilian returned to Austria to rejoin the top club from Salzburg. The league campaign in Austria started at the end of May and since then, Ramalho and Co. are undefeated winning nine out of eleven games. By the way: The former Leverkusen player scored the 100th goal for the Salzburg team this season in the Austrian Bundesliga where RB have once again been able to celebrate winning the double.
There is less good news for one player who was in the Bayer 04 youth teams for eleven years. AS Monaco, whose squad has included Benjamin Henrichs for two years, play in Ligue 1 in France. That was one of the first European top leagues to be ended early due to the coronavirus pandemic at the end of April. That meant a ninth-place finish with the German right back playing 13 league games for Monaco. Henrichs is currently in Leipzig and it looks very likely that he will join RB where he will meet another player in Kevin Kampl who went through the Academy at Kurtekotten.
The situation is completely different for Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez. The restart in the USA came much later compared with Germany and England – in the second week in July. The venue for the MLS is rather unusual with the league currently being played to an end in a tournament: Disney World in Orlando. The 26 teams will be cordoned off from the outside world and will start by playing in six groups before moving on to a Round of 16. Chicharito, once a crowd favourite at Leverkusen (2015 to 2017), is playing for LA Galaxy in Group F. The Mexico international only arrived in Los Angeles in January this year but is already the captain of the team.
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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