Kai ‘DETO_OFFICIAL’ Wollin met Bremen’s Fabio ‘FIFABIO97’ Sabbagh in the first clash on PlayStation 4. Both sides were fully focussed and tried to avoid making any mistakes. Wollin played a clever game for the 90 minutes and earned a point in a goalless draw with a direct rival. “The opponent is well-known for his strong defence. I knew I wouldn’t get many chances. I had two or three decent openings but I didn’t finish them well. I didn’t give anything away at the back,” was his assessment.
In the second game on Xbox 1, Fabian ‘B04_DUBZJE’ De Cae played Michael ‘MEGABIT’ Bittner. The match promised to be a thriller. De Cae netted a brace in the first half and secured a deserved 2-1 victory in the end. “I played really well in the first half and was clinical with both chances. The opponent played a pressing game in the second half and threw everything into attack. I allowed myself to get distracted and played too fast but I deserved to win in the end,” said ‘B04_DUBZJE’.
Matchday 12 followed in the evening with a game against Hannover 96 that saw Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr make his singles debut for the #B04eSports team on PlayStation 4. Landwehr made an impressive start to the game with aggressive pressing and he won a lot of challenges. He was well on top in the first half and did not give away any clear-cut chances. After his opening goal, he quickly doubled his lead. The game took an unfortunate turn for the worse in the second half with a penalty conceded and Hannover went on to level. “With the second goal I conceded, I brought the central defender back to prevent the opponent playing a diagonal ball. But it can’t be helped. An unlucky twist,” said Landwehr. “Although I would have preferred to win, I was very happy to play my first singles match on PlayStation.” De Cae faced Fabian ‘H96_DONCHAP’ Deutscher in the second match. He clocked up a 1-0 win on Xbox 1.
The doubles matches against Werder Bremen and Hannover 96 will be played on the New Year due to the coronavirus pandemic. That meant the Bayer 04 eSports trio were able to secure provisional 4-1 wins. The team go into the winter break in the North West division in fifth place on 45 points. Bayer 04 are back in action against Holstein Kiel on matchday 14 on 12 January.
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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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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