The home game for Austria, with the Leverkusen defensive stalwart Aleksandar Dragovic playing the full 90 minutes, started with a surprising setback for the team under coach Franco Foda: Sonni Nattestad put the Faroe Islands, ranked 107th in the world, in the lead on 19 minutes. Dragovic equalised on the half-hour mark – and then Austria got going.
The Bundesliga players Christoph Baumgartner (30’/TSG Hoffenheim) and Sasa Kalajdzic (44’/VfB Stuttgart) scored the other goals to give Austria a 3-1 lead at half-time. The scoreline remained the same at the final whistle at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna. That was the first win for Drago and Co. following the 2-2 draw against Scotland.
Germany followed up on their 3-0 opening victory against Iceland. The team led by coach Joachim Löw beat Romania 1-0 in Bucharest. The only goal of the game was scored by Bayern Munich's Serge Gnabry with former Leverkusen player Kai Havertz providing the assist (17'). As in the match against Iceland, the Werkself players Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz did not play.
The Germany U21 team played their second group match in the European Championship on Saturday night. The team led by coach Stefan Kuntz drew 1-1 with Holland in Székesfehérvár in Hungary. After a first half without any clear-cut chances, the Dutch took the lead on 48 minutes through Justin Kluivert. The opening goal from the RB Leipzig player stemmed from a mistake by the Germany keeper Finn Dahmen (FSV Mainz 05). Lukas Nmecha of RSC Anderlecht levelled the scores late on (84').
The Bayer 04 keeper Lennart Grill was again on the bench as in the 3-0 victory against Hungary. Romania are the opponents for Germany in the final group match game in the European Championship on Tuesday, 30 March (kick-off: 18.00 CEST). The Kuntz team are currently top of Group A on four points level with Romania. A draw will be enough for Germany to progress to the knockout stages to be played from 31 May to 6 June. This involves the first and second placed teams from the four groups.
The new week starts from a Black and Red perspective on Monday night, 29 March (kick-off: 18.00 CEST) with a match involving Edmond Tapsoba. The Werkself central defender and Burkina Faso play South Sudan in Group B of the Africa Cup qualifiers. Tapsoba's team have already qualified for the finals of the competition with a goalless draw in Uganda.
Patrik Schick is set to play for Czechia a day later in a World Cup qualifier in Wales (kick-off: 20.45 CEST) a few hours after the U21 group match for Germany against Romania. To end the first international break of the year, the Germany senior team with Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz plus Austria with Aleksandar Dragovic are in line to play on Wednesday, 31 March. The kick-off of the two World Cup qualifiers is at 20.45 CEST. The remaining internationals involving Werkself players:
Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz (Germany):
Wednesday, 31 March (20.45 CEST, Duisburg): Germany v North Macedonia (World Cup qualifier, Group J)
Lennart Grill (Germany U21):
Tuesday, 30 March (18.00 CEST, Budapest): Germany U21 v Romania U21 (Euros, group stage)
Aleksandar Dragovic (Austria):
Wednesday, 31 March (20.45 CEST, Vienna): Austria v Denmark (World Cup qualifier, Group F)
Patrik Schick (Czechia):
Tuesday, 30 March (20.45 CEST, Cardiff): Wales v Czechia (World Cup qualifier, Group)
Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso):
Monday, 29 March (18.00 CET, Ouagadougou): Burkina Faso v South Sudan (Africa Cup qualifier, Group B)
With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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A successful fourth preseason friendly ahead of the start of the training camp: The Werkself secured a 3-0 victory over Rot-Weiss Essen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The goals in what was a commanding and dominant performance by Leverkusen from the outset were scored by Ibrahim Maza (8'), Patrik Schick from the penalty spot (23’) and, in the second half, Montrell Culbreath with a header (79’). The team set off for their training camp in Blankenhain in the Weimarer Land region after the game.
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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 personal 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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You have voted – your ‘Team of the Quarter-Century’ has been decided! This historic selection, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, features honorary captains, Bundesliga champions, double winners and Champions League finalists. Edmond Tapsoba is the only player from the current Bayer 04 squad to make it into the starting XI, while his team-mate Patrik Schick is on the bench. Simon Rolfes, the current managing director sport, is also in the lie-up. A truly special team that brings together a quarter of a century of Bayer 04 history – and has left a decisive mark on the club.
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Following Patrik Schick, Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Kerim Alajbegovic earlier this week, the next World Cup participant is back on the training ground in Leverkusen: On Thursday 30 July, Malik Tillman rejoined the squad, completing his first training session under head coach Carles Martínez.
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