Julian Brandt is the only Werkself pro to play in all 34 Bundesliga games last season: The 22-year-old forward was in the starting line-up 26 times and he came off the subs bench eight times (2,334 minutes). That makes the number 10 in the Herrlich team one of only four attacking players in the Bundesliga not to miss a single game in the season alongside Niclas Füllkrug (Hannover, 2,387 minutes), Thorgan Hazard (Gladbach, 2,946 minutes) and Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim, 2,222 minutes). Brandt also played in all five DFB Cup games. Well done Julian.
Although Julian Brandt did not miss a single game this term, four of his team-mates did have more time on the pitch. To be more exact: Bernd Leno (33 appearances, 2,970 minutes), Kevin Volland (31 appearances, 2,599 minutes), Jonathan Tah (28 appearances, 2,426 minutes) and Sven Bender (29 appearances, 2,347 minutes).
Kevin Volland was the top scorer for the Werkself with 14 goals followed by Lucas Alario, Leon Bailey and Julian Brandt each with nine in the league. Along with Mark Uth (Hoffenheim) and Niclas Füllkurg (Hannover), Volland is the best German striker after Nils Petersen (Freiburg, 15). By contributing to 16 goals (including two assists) Volland has clocked up the most goals and assists for Bayer 04 this term – ahead of Leon Bailey (9 goals, 6 assists), Lucas Alario, Julian Brandt (both 9 goals, 5 assists) plus Kai Havertz (3 goals, 9 assists).
Talking about Kai Havertz. The Werkself player with the most assists became the youngest ever Bundesliga player to set up 10 goals (since detailed stats were first collected in 2004) on matchday 17 at the age of 18 and 189 days. On matchday 30, the Werkself number 29 made his 50th Bundesliga appearance at the age of 18 years and 307 days in the 4-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt - no other player has reached that landmark at a younger age. In his 54 Bundesliga games to date, Havertz has scored seven goals and provided 15 assists – a fantastic achievement for a midfielder.
With 94 per cent of passes completed, Julian Baumgartlinger provided the most passes in the whole of the Bundesliga (only player with at least 500 passes). Congratulations, Baumi. His fellow defensive midfielder, Charles Aránguiz, had the highest number of touches for the Werkself (2,170) and the third most in the league – and that with just 27 Bundesliga appearances this season.
Leon Bailey had the most efforts on goal for the Werkself (75) and also set up the most shots (61). By participating in 136 shots, he is fourth in the league behind Thorgan Hazard (Gladbach, 149), Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern, 145) and Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim, 137). Moreover: Along with teammate Julian Brandt, the Jamaican scored three of his nine goals this season as a result of counter-attacks. Only Frankfurt’s Luka Jovic and Hannover’s Niclas Füllkrug have struck more often on the break (4 each).
Kevin Volland was, at the same time, the most fouled Bayer 04 player (60 times, shared ninth place in the league) and the player in Black and Read to commit the most fouls (59, shared eighth place in the league). However: Volland also made the most challenges for the Werkself (698 – the eleventh highest in the league) – that represents an average of 23 challenges per game. And the Werkself number 31 also won 43 per cent of his duels.
With 70.2 per cent of challenges won, Jonathan Tah is the best tackler for the Werkself. In the Bundesliga, only Schalke’s Naldo (73.6%) has a higher number of challenges (only player with an average of at least four challenges the game).
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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To all Bayer 04 fans: The Fanwelt will be closed all day next Monday 30 June. This is due to preparations for the change of kit supplier from Castore to New Balance on Tuesday 1 July.
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The Norway U23 international Julie Jorde has completed the move from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Brøndby IF. The twelve-time champions of Denmark have signed the midfielder on permanent terms after her loan move from the Bundesliga to Denmark in the winter.
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It is almost two years since Bayer 04 new signing Abdoulaye Faye first stepped foot into the BayArena as a player for the Swedish club BK Häcken in the opening match in the 2023/24 Europa League campaign. A day before his nineteenth birthday, the central defender did not play in the 4-0 win for the Werkself but it was "an incredible night" for him on 21 September 2023 as he explained in his first interview on bayer04.de. "I watched the players and saw the fans. I liked it." It was also the first European night early on in his career. He only joined the then champions of Sweden in the cold north of Europe from his home in Senegal a few weeks before that special moment. Bayer04.de profiles our new defender.
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Welcome, Abdoulaye Faye. The 20-year-old Senegalese central defender joins Leverkusen from top-flight Swedish club BK Häcken. In his first interview he talks about his move to Bayer 04 and his targets with the Werkself.
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