For this Werkself fan, his position at his favourite club represents a dream come true. "I'm very much looking forward to representing Bayer 04 in the future as the first #B04eSports talent," Said Degner who will primarily start on PlayStation for Bayer 04 and he is due to become an established member of the squad for the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) from the autumn of 2021.
As part of a comprehensive scholarship, the talented teenager will spend a year at the sports college in Leverkusen, also attended by football players like Kai Havertz, and he will be the first student at the #B04eSports Academy. The training at the eAcademy will be provided in partnership with TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen and ensure through daily training the continual development of playing ability as well as work on tactics but also in PR activity as well as the areas of nutrition and fitness. On top of that, the student will also complete his Abitur exams at the Landrat Lucas Grammar School.
Degner impressed the management of the Bayer 04 eSports department in the several months of the selection process not only on the console but also with his soft skills such as dealing with social media. "In Paul we have found a very talented first rookie for our eAcademy who has many qualities for a successful FIFA career on the console," declared Florian Dederichs, head of internationalisation and eSports at Bayer 04. “The holistic approach of academic support and continual development of talent at the eAcademy is a unique project in Germany. Therefore, we are even happier to have found a talent from our region in Paul, which fits in perfectly with this concept."
Steffi Nerius, head of the Leverkusen sports college, added: "The Leverkusen sports college offers young competitive athletes the ideal opportunity to combine school and sport. We are looking forward to being able to look after Paul as the first sports college student at the #B04eSports Academy. In future, he will join 50 athletes from eight different types of sport and train and learn with them. It's a very exciting step for TSV Bayer 04 e.V. in partnership with the Bayer 04eSports Academy. We are happy to be the pioneers in this project."
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the women's DFB-Pokal 2026/27
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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 working 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 personal 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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Having previously recorded six consecutive home wins across all competitions, Bayer 04 suffered their first home defeat of 2026/27 as they went down 4-2 to VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on Matchday 8. The visitors capitalised on their first two chances to score, with Ermedin Demirovic and Jamie Leweling finding the net in the first half. Although Patrik Schick got a goal back in the first half, Bilal El Khannouss and Demirovic again added further goals for Stuttgart. Bayer 04 didn’t give up, but Ibrahim Maza’s goal proved little more than a consolation.
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Fans at the BayArena got to enjoy a spectacle on Wednesday as the Werkself came from behind to beat Nürnberg 5-2 in the DFB Pokal. Now with the sixth home game of the season, can Bayer 04 maintain their perfect record in Leverkusen as VfB Stuttgart come to town in the Bundesliga on Saturday (15:30 CET)? The visitors have had issues domestically this term, sitting in 15th place, although they have had much better results in the UEFA Champions League. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 8 encounter…
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The Bayern Munich women’s football team are unbeaten in all domestic competitions in the last 62 matches. On Sunday (15:00 CET), the Bayer 04 women’s team will make their next attempt to end the holders unbeaten run in the DFB Pokal Round of 16 tie. For coach Roberto Pätzold, there are a number of factors that give the Werkself cause for optimism despite the high-calibre opposition.
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