The historic mission – the Werkself could win five European games in succession for the first time since 1995 – started on Wednesday morning with coronavirus testing. At 10.00 CET not only the coach Peter Bosz, the players and support staff were tested but the whole delegation including the two managing directors Fernando Carro and Rudi Völler were invited into the doping check room at the BayArena. The background to the testing: When Bayer 04 fly back to Cologne/Bonn Airport from Bern in the night from Thursday to Friday, everybody returning to Germany will have to produce a negative test that is not more than 48 hours old. Otherwise, the people concerned will have to self-isolate.
After the testing, the team had breakfast before boarding the coach to the airport. The Fokker 100 plane took off at 12.50 and landed in the Swiss capital at 13.39 after a quiet flight. The group then continued the journey to the Schweizerhof hotel in the centre of Bern. From there, it is just less than three kilometres to the Wankdorf Stadium where the game between Young Boys and the Werkself kicks off at 18.55 CET on Thursday evening.
The venue is a place of pilgrimage for German football fans. The legendary Wankdorf Stadium, where Germany won the World Cup for the first time in 1954, was demolished in 2001. The new arena, opened in 2005, was built on the same site. Members of the Leverkusen group not involved in the training session had the chance to take plenty of selfies. Including Fernando Carro and Rudi Völler, who were photographed in front of the goal where Helmut Rahn scored to make it 3-2 against Hungary on 4 July 1954.
Behind that goal are the dressing rooms at the Wankdorf Stadium, which is where the Young Boys Bern have played their home games since 2005. And always on an artificial pitch. The reason for that is of a structural nature. At the old Wankdorf Stadium there were two training pitches behind the main stand, which were available to the senior squad. When the stadium was rebuilt they made way for a shopping centre that was linked to the building approval for the new stadium. An artificial pitch was installed because the players were only able to train at the arena.
“If it was up to us, we would have had a grass pitch years ago,” admitted Albert Staudenmann, the head of communications at YB. “But we can’t find any land close to the stadium to build a training ground. It’s not easy in Bern or anywhere else in Switzerland for that matter.” As a result, the players have to rely on the goodwill of the city council to be able to at least hold the final pre-match training session on a grass pitch ahead of away games. Anything but ideal conditions for current double winners.
Head coach Peter Bosz reacted to the absence of Lukas Hradecky (heel problem) by bringing a youth player into the senior squad: U19 keeper Marcel Johnen travelled to Bern along with Niklas Lomb. The 18-year-old joined Leverkusen in the summer of 2018 from the youth section at Alemannia Aachen. In his first season at Bayer 04, Johnen made 24 appearances for the Leverkusen U17s. Since 2019/20 he has been in goal for the U19s. Johnen has played seven games for the oldest youth team at Bayer 04 to date. Youth matches have been suspended for several months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
For the Werkself, the away game in Bern marks the return to the European stage after exactly 70 days. Peter Bosz’ team beat the Czech Republic champions Slavia Prague 4-0 at the BayArena on 10 December. The fifth win in the sixth group match in the Europa League secured top spot in Group C for Bayer 04.
Ahead of the first leg in the Round of 32 in the Europa League, sporting director Simon Rolfes shared his view of the forthcoming opponents and the Swiss Super League in an interview on the Young Boys website. Bern’s head coach Gerardo Seoane introduced Werkself fans to the philosophy of the Swiss club on bayer04.de.
The Bayer 04 fan liaison have continued their support for local projects in and around Leverkusen in 2021. After Werkself fans raised over €20,000 in 2020 for different events, funds are being collected in the first weeks of the New Year for the homeless charity ‘Kältegang Leverkusen’. A significant four-figure sum has already been raised. As a reward for this wide ranging social commitment, Bayer 04 are raffling three ‘consolation prizes’ plus a match shirt worn by the captain Charles Aránguiz.
It was definitely an historic moment for the Bundesliga: On 17 February 2017, Werkself winger Karim Bellarabi scored goal number 50,000 in the history of the league in the game at FC Augsburg. On 23 minutes, the Leverkusen player put the ball in the back of the net from a Kai Havertz pass to make it 1-0. The Werkself won the away match 3-1.
The 30-year-old, in contrast to his teammates, is spending the fourth anniversary of his historic strike in Leverkusen. Bellarabi is working on his comeback from a thigh injury – and he will definitely be thinking of his goal. It remains to be seen whether he will be back in the squad for the Bundesliga game at FC Augsburg on Sunday 21 February (kick-off: 13.30 CET). Bellarabi certainly knows how to score goals against that opponent…
Andreas Thom can look back at a personal anniversary on Wednesday: The striker made his debut for the Werkself exactly 31 years ago on 17 February 1990 in a 3-1 home win against FC Homburg. But not that just that: He scored the opening goal for his new club on 15 minutes. For Thom, that match was followed by 161 Bundesliga games, 36 goals and 41 assists in the next five and a half years.
A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
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On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
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Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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Nathan Tella has extended his contract with Bayer 04 to 2031. In an interview with Werkself TV, the 26-year-old talks about fulfilling his dreams, his positive outlook on life and his goals for the future. He answers the questions in English - all except the last one, which he addresses directly to the fans...
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