Bayer 04 qualified for next season’s Champions League campaign a week and a half ago and now 25 teams are through to the group stage. The latest to make it on Sunday were the Russian club Locomotive Moscow (including former Germany international Benedikt Höwedes) plus, from Italy, Inter Milan and, for the first time in the club’s history, Atalanta Bergamo with their German left-back Robin Gosens. The Werkself could face any of the three teams in the group stage but up to now they definitely will not play FC Salzburg or Valencia. Those two teams are in Pot 3 along with Bayer 04.
The line-up so far is (as at 28 May 2019): Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Bayer 04 (all Germany), Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur (all England), Juventus, Napoli, Atalanta, Inter Milan (all Italy), Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, Valencia (all Spain), Paris St. Germain, Lille OSC (both France), Zenit St. Petersburg, Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia), Benfica (Portugal), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), KRC Genk (Belgium), Galatasaray (Turkey) plus FC Salzburg (Austria).
If Arsenal, with former Bayer 04 goalkeeper Bernd Leno, win the Europa League final on Wednesday then the London club would be the fifth English team in the Champions League. The other places will be determined from the end of June via individual qualifying rounds.
The qualified clubs can not just look forward to unforgettable nights of football but also significant amounts of money. UEFA are expected to announce next week how high the bonuses will be for the participants. In comparison to the Europa League, it should be a financial quantum leap. In 2018/2019, UEFA distributed over €2 billion to the clubs and each of the 32 participants received starting bonus of 15.25 million. On top of that, there are performance bonuses. By comparison: Bayer 04 received a starting bonus of less than €3 million in the Europa League last season.
Next Saturday’s final between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur provides further impressive numbers. The match will be broadcast live in over 200 countries and between 300 and 400 million people will watch the final. That makes the Champions League final one of the biggest individual sporting events in the world – and a former Bayer 04 pro is centre stage. Heung-Min Son, who scored 29 goals in 87 games for the Werkself between 2013 and 2015, played an enormously important role in Spurs qualifying for the final of the Champions League for the first time. The South Korean demonstrated his ability in the quarter-finals against Premier League champions Manchester City with the only goal of the game in the first leg and a brace in the 4-3 defeat in the second. Now Son is about to play in the biggest Champions League game of his career. His first was with the Werkself: He provided the assist for Simon Rolfes to level at 1-1 in the 4-2 defeat against Manchester United in September 2013.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed Kerim Alajbegovic’s transfer to Italian record champions Juventus. The club brought the 18-year-old attacking player back to Leverkusen this summer via a buy-back option, following a season at Red Bull Salzburg. Until his move to Austria, the Bosnia international had been playing for Bayer 04’s Under-19s.
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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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Werkself TV shows the highlights of the 3-0 victory in the friendly match against Rot-Weiss Essen...
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without Kennet Eichhorn for the time being. Following specialist medical examinations, the new signing from Berlin has been diagnosed with a metabolic disorder requiring treatment. This was preceded by excessive physical strain and weight loss, partly as a result of a gastrointestinal condition.
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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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