In the run-up to Leverkusen's Bundesliga Matchday 6 encounter at home to newly promoted Holstein Kiel on 5 October (15:30 CEST), the Schlebusch district is coming into focus with various activities organised by the works club. After holding their own training session, Haim and Merino Gonzalez spent plenty of time with the 30 children at the primary school.
For former Nuremberg player Haim, the project was something close to her heart. Until her move from the relegated Bundesliga side to Bayer 04, the 27-year-old had also worked full-time as a teacher at a secondary school. "Normally I always had to deal with older pupils, who aren't as easily enthused as the primary school children," said Haim. "The atmosphere was great right from the start, the children were very excited. The children had lots of friends throughout the lesson and were very enthusiastic. I definitely want to work at a school again when my footballing career is over."
After a short football warm-up exercise, the Bayer 04 players let the children compete in a penalty shootout, with Merino Gonzalez and Haim trying their hand at goalkeeping. Afterwards, the pupils, divided into three alternating teams, played a game across the entire field. Afterwards, the Leverkusen duo patiently took time to answer the children's many questions and autograph requests. As a gift, they each received two tickets for the women's home game against German champions FC Bayern Munich on Sunday 20 October (18:30 CEST).
"It was a lot of fun for me to experience a class like this from the perspective of a teacher because I still go to school myself," said 17-year-old Merino Gonzalez. "The children had so much fun, you could see the smiles on their faces. That makes me very happy." So happy that the campaign doesn't have to be a one-off experience for her. "I could even imagine wanting to work as a teacher myself after my career," added the striker.
Bayer 04 is holding the so-called District Matchdays for the second year running in the 2024/25 season. In each district of Leverkusen, a range of activities and workshops with the pros will take place ahead of selected Bundesliga home games. There's also a district shirt for each action day. The Schlebusch shirt is now available HERE.
You can find more information about the district matchdays HERE.
There won’t just be plenty of excitement on the pitch as Bayer 04 host Borussia Dortmund at the BayArena at 18:30 CET on Saturday. Outside the stadium there will be collection points for food donations to the Leverkusen Foodbank, which will also benefit from the profits of a jersey raffle in the Fanwelt afterwards. There will also be a minute’s silence before kick-off following the passing of long-time Werkself player Dieter Herzog, before two fan clubs are honoured for their decades-long support at half-time and fans receive a talk about Orange Day, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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Borussia Dortmund are doing very well in terms of points and results in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. BVB have only suffered two defeats to date this term. Now coach Niko Kovac's team are away to the Werkself on Saturday night, 29 November (kick-off: 18:30 CET) in the top match on Bundesliga matchday 12. The two teams meet again three days later in the DFB Pokal Round of 16 tie in Dortmund. Two very competitive encounters are on the cards. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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