The sports journal kicker has named defender Sven Bender in their team of the matchday after the 1-0 home win against FSV Mainz 05. That is the third nomination of the completed season for the 31-year-old.
After his impressive display in the victory over Mainz 05, Sven Bender has shared his first assessment of the unusual 2019/20 Bundesliga season that ended with the Black and Reds in fifth place on 63 points – and that sets a new record for team finishing a season in that position. “We picked up lots and lots of points. In a normal season, that total would have been enough to qualify for the Champions League. The fact that isn’t the case this year shows how high the quality is at the top this season. We have to accept we’ve had a very good Bundesliga season overall,” said the former Germany international.
The Werkself attacking midfielder, Kai Havertz, more than deserved to gain his nomination with an outstanding second half of the season: The 21-year-old qualified for the team of the season thanks to appearing five times in the BILD team of the matchday. The line-up is made up almost exclusively from players from the top five in the Bundesliga – with the exception of keeper Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg) and Dedryck Boyata (Hertha Berlin). The coach of the season, according to BILD, is FC Bayern boss Hansi Flick and Deniz Aytekin is the best referee.
Wins on the final matchday of a Bundesliga season are a regular occurrence for Leverkusen these days. The most recent three points earned by the Werkself against Mainz marks the fifth win in succession on the last day of the season. Nine of the last ten seasons have ended with a victory – a remarkable return.
Following the win at the end of the league campaign, the Werkself players had another reason to celebrate yesterday – for their now 36-year-old goalkeeper Ramazan Özcan. The Austrian has played for Bayer 04 since 2016 and has proved to be a reliable reserve keeper, motivator and contact.
Former Werkself defender Hans Sarpei was also able to celebrate on reaching his 44th birthday. Sarpei played for the Black and Reds from 2007 to 2010 and he made 55 appearances during that time. Bayer 04 wish them a belated happy birthday.
And finally, we come to the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga and the Bayer 04 Women. The team led by head coach Achim Feifel were able to be happy having stayed up in spite of yesterday’s 5-0 defeat at the former and current champions VfL Wolfsburg. That was primarily due to the deserved 3-1 derby win against FC Köln in the previous week. The season ended with 17 points and a tenth-placed finish.
“We wanted to ensure staying up much earlier in the season. We aimed to finish eighth this season. Nevertheless, I’m happy we’re playing in the Bundesliga next season. In the next few weeks, we’ll review and analyse the season,” said Feifel, whose players can look forward to a well-deserved summer break after a small end of season party today, taking place in observance of the coronavirus measures.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-0 win at SGS Essen on the 24th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
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After matchday 31 and the 2-1 derby win in Cologne, one thing is certain: Bayer 04 will at least compete in the UEFA Europa League in the coming 2026/27 campaign. But the Werkself want more. Looking at the race for Champions League qualification and the remaining three league fixtures, including against direct rivals, bayer04.de outlines the possible scenarios in the season run-in.
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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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