Although several players were away on international duty, Heiko Herrlich was able to use the international window to work intensively with the rest of his players: "We had seven of the players who started against FC Schalke in training. So we've worked on sharpening up a few things in the past two weeks – both in defensive and offensive areas."
Confirm positive trend
In assessing the season so far, the coach keeps emphasising the difference between performance and results. The trend is now going in the right direction: "We've played seven games. Although performances in the first three matches were generally very good we only managed to pick up one point. If you look at the last four games you can see we've picked up four points. We need to confirm that development and look to extend it."
'We want to play our game'
In response to a question about Wolfsburg, who have only secured three points since the change of coaches, Herrlich declared: "They have more possession and are more efficient in finishing. Martin Schmidt proved at Mainz that he can successfully lead a team. I'm sure he'll get Wolfsburg back on track as well. But we want to play our game against VfL on Sunday and win."
Jedvaj still in rehab, Aránguiz not match fit
In the quest for a third win at home this season, the coach has a full squad to choose from with the exception of Tin Jedvaj (still in rehab after a hairline shin fracture) and Charles Aránguiz. On Aránguiz, who suffered a calf injury in the away match at FC Schalke 04 but then played in the international against Brazil, the coach responded as follows: "Charly is back. He was checked out by our doctors this morning to see how the injury has developed. Of course, you can still see the bruising from two weeks ago but nothing has been made any worse by playing for Chile." However, he has not fully recovered from the injury and is ruled out at this weekend's game on the advice of the Bayer 04 medical section.
28,000 expected at the BayArena
Eight 28,000 crowd is expected for the fifth Family Day at the BayArena for the match against VfL Wolfsburg. For anybody who does not want to miss the special highlights for Bayer 04 fans young and old: Come and get your tickets on matchday.
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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