
The big question of "Ronaldo or Messi?" came straight away at the beginning. However, Mukiele and Lomb quickly agreed on the Argentinian. There were gasps around the room when Mukiele talked about playing with another famous star at Paris Saint-Germain: Kylian Mbappé (now at Real Madrid). Which left the question: "Mbappé or Haaland?“ The Frenchman obviously went for his compatriot.
The pair also revealed who their idols are. For Mukiele, as a defender there was no one better than Sergio Ramos, while Lomb named Manuel Neuer. But on the follow-up question of "Hradecky or Neuer?", the 31-year-old remained faithful to his goalkeeping colleague and Werkself captain Lukas Hradecky.





Talking of team-mates, the curious children were also interested to know which players in the squad the pair get on with best. Lomb answered diplomatically: "The nice thing about is is that we're very harmonious as a team and all get on well with each other. But I spend the most time with Rob [Andrich] and Jonas [Hofmann]." For Mukiele, Jerry [Frimpong] is his closest confidant and also works hard as the DJ in the dressing room, as the 26-year-old revealed.
DJ, footballer... steward: if Mukiele hadn't become a professional footballer, that would've been his dream career, he explained: "I like flying and I like learning lots of new languages, so I can imagine that I would've done that."





In the autograph round that followed, no wish was left unfulfilled. Selfies were taken, shirts and boots signed, and one or two extra questions were answered. Mukiele, for example, spoke to the kids about his hobbies and revealed that he regularly speaks to his mother on the telephone.
A budding young goalkeeper even got some tips from Lomb on positioning. After around an hour, it was onto the next engagement for the Werkself duo. For the kids of the Bayer 04 Football School, there was still a stadium tour, including a viewing of the trophies from the double season, on the schedule.

With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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A special surprise: during the preview for the 'Fierté Burkinabè' documentary about Edmond Tapsoba, Bayer 04 directors Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes announced Tapsoba's contract extension until 2031 together with the centre-back. He then spoke to Werkself-TV about his time in Leverkusen so far and future ambitions...
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This evening was deeply moving: At a really special setting, Bayer 04 exclusively presented the specially produced documentary ‘Fierté Burkinabè’ ("Burkinabe Pride") about Edmond Tapsoba on Tuesday. For the preview at the BayArena, the parents of the Werkself player and other close companions travelled all the way from his African homeland Burkina Faso. The 45-minute film shows Tapsoba's extraordinary career from his beginnings in Ouagadougou to Leverkusen as well as the work of his foundation "Fondation Edmond Tapsoba", with representatives from Burkina Faso also present. Fans can watch the documentary free of charge on Werkself TV and YouTube from Wednesday night at 20:00 CEST.
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