“I love this competition. The cup is great,” Hjulmand beamed at his pre-match press conference. “We’re ready and want to do all we can to reach the semi-finals,” he added. When asked about being favourites to progress, the Dane responded, “I haven’t thought about it. I’ve got too much respect for our opponent. They made things tough for us in the league meeting, but we need to play our game tomorrow and show our identity.”
Hjulmand also had a smile when he replied to questions about potentially winning the trophy. “My children always ask: What have you won? And we’ve got a big chance here. It’s just three more wins. That’s a big motivation for the team and the club,” the 53-year-old stated.
He later spoke positively about his players attitude, always looking at “what they can improve. We’re not fully pleased with a win and not devasted by a defeat. We always focus on the performance.”
“He won’t play tomorrow but should be back for Saturday, if things go well,” Hjulmand explained of Ibrahim Maza. Apart from him, Nathan Tella, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Mark Flekken, the whole squad is fit and ready.
In addition, the coach talked about options on the right. “Arthur played extremely well in Frankfurt. So too did Lucas Vázquez against Villarreal and Bremen. One has good pace, the other has experience and game intelligence.” Given the packed fixture list this month, he’s pleased to have such good options at his disposal. “We’ve got lots of games in a short space of time. We need every player.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended Abdoulaye Faye’s contract by a further year to 30 June 2031. During the 2026/27 season, the talented defender will play for Celta Vigo on loan without an option to buy. The 21-year-old Senegalese is set to feature in La Liga and the UEFA Europa League with last season’s sixth-placed side in Spain.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme on day one (Sunday 2 August) includes a media round with managing director sport Simon Rolfes, free time for the team after the friendly against Rot-Weiss Essen and before an intensive week of training begins, as well as a coffee get-together where CEO Fernando Carro and Rolfes met around 100 fans in the afternoon.
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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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A warm welcome to the Weimarer Land, Bayer 04! The Werkself moved into their accommodation for this year’s training camp on Saturday evening. In Blankenhain, Thuringia, head coach Carles Martínez’s team have a programme of gruelling training sessions – several of which will be open to fans – and team-building activities lined up for the next six days. We’ll be following the Werkself up close and providing you with exclusive insights, quotes, photos and videos from the training camp.
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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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