"That makes it almost impossible,” said Patrick Vieira last Thursday after his team lost 3-1 to Slavia Prague. Nevertheless: only “almost”. To go through to the Round of 32 in the Europa League, his team have to make up six points on the Werkself in the remaining two games – and also at least equal the 6-2 scoreline in the first meeting, that means winning 4-0 or 5-1 on Thursday. As the first game against Slavia Prague ended in a 3-2 defeat so did the head-to-head with the Czechs; the only points gained so far in the group stage came from a 1-0 win against Hapoel Be’er Sheva.
Nice have also failed to fire on all cylinders in Ligue 1 since the game at the BayArena. Back then, Nice were fourth in the French top-flight but they slipped eleventh at the weekend – after a 3-1 home defeat at bottom-placed Dijon. “We’re in a difficult phase,” admitted Vieira at the post-match press conference. “We have to stick together and work even harder to turn it round.”
One definite reason for the current poor form of the French side: the serious injury to their captain and key defender Dante. The former Bundesliga player suffered a torn cruciate in a 3-0 win against Angers at the start of November and faces several months on the sidelines. After the shock injury, Nice have lost all four games with the defence conceding eleven goals without their leader. The team has also been hit hard by coronavirus: A number of players tested positive in the middle of November and the league match against Olympique Marseille had to be postponed. The majority of the players affected are now back in the squad.
The German Football League (DFL) has announced the three candidates for Bundesliga ‘Rookie of the Month’ for February. Among the candidates is Werkself player Jarell Quansah. Fans of Bayer 04 can vote for their favourite on the Bundesliga app from now until Thursday, 5 March (23:59 CET).
Show more
On a day that celebrated 50 years of official Bayer 04 fan clubs with festivities on the pitch during the match against FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday, New York-based Werkself Warriors were proudly represented on the field by co-founder Alex Kramm.
Show more
The Werkself conceded a goal at home for the first time since the beginning of January 67 minutes into the game against FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday. Jarell Quansah levelled late on for the final score of 1-1 to secure a point and avoid a first home defeat in six games. Bayer 04 were very critical of their performance after the game. The Werkself review.
Show more
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…
Show more
