Captain Elisa Senß has deservedly earned another call-up thanks to her impressive debut for the Germany team last December in the UEFA Women's Nations League. Friday 23 February (kick-off: 21.00 CET, live on ARD sees Germany play the Olympic hosts France in Lyon in the semi-final not just to determine progress to the Nations League final but also for a place at the summer games. In the event of defeat, the team under Germany coach Horst Hrubesch will have a second chance of qualifying on Wednesday 28 February with a third place play-off against Spain or the Netherlands.
Two other Leverkusen players are in the same competition for two play-off games to the relevant league. Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir, who helped out Senß and Germany in reaching the semi-final stage in December with her winner for Iceland against Denmark, is set to play away and then at home to Serbia to remain in League A. Lilla Turányi with Hungary play Belgium twice as they look to stay in League B. The Polish duo Sylwia Matysik and Nikola Karczewska, who convincingly won Nations League Group B3, have two friendlies against Switzerland.
Three Leverkusen players are away with the Norway U23 squad. Emilie Bragstad and Synne Skinnes Hansen are joined by winter signing Julie Jorde. The trio have a friendly against Spain. Cecilie Johansen is with the Denmark U23 side for two friendly fixtures against the Netherlands and Sweden.
A number of Leverkusen players are away with the Germany youth teams. Michael Urbansky, the new U19 coach, has called up six Bayer 04 Women for two international fixtures against the Netherlands and Italy. Goalkeeper Anne Moll plus outfield players Paulina Bartz, Loreen Bender, Delice Boboy, Estrella Merino Gonzalez and Julia Mickenhagen have been selected. The games in an international tournament serve as preparation for the European Championship qualifiers at the start of April and will be played in La Nucia in Spain. In addition, Sofie Zdebe is in the Germany U20 squad under the coach Kathrin Peter. The team first play the hosts and then Mexico in Alicante.
Forthcoming international fixtures:
Elisa Senß (Germany)
23.02: France vs Germany (UEFA Women’s Nations League, semi-final)
28.02: Game for third place/final
Lilla Turányi (Hungary)
23.02: Hungary vs Belgium (UEFA Women’s Nations League, relegation play-off)
27.02: Belgium vs Hungary (UEFA Women’s Nations League, relegation play-off)
Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir (Iceland)
23.02: Serbia vs Iceland (UEFA Women’s Nations League, relegation play-off)
27.02: Iceland vs Serbia (UEFA Women’s Nations League, relegation play-off)
Sylwia Matysik, Nikola Karczewska (Poland)
23.02: Poland vs Switzerland (Friendly)
27.02: Switzerland vs Poland (Friendly)
Emilie Bragstad, Julie Jorde, Synne Skinnes Hansen (Norway U23s)
27.02: Spain vs Norway (Friendly)
Cecilie Johansen (Denmark U23s)
22.02: Denmark vs Netherlands (Friendly)
25.02: Denmark vs Sweden (Friendly)
Paulina Bartz, Loreen Bender, Delice Boboy, Estrella Merino Gonzalez, Julia Mickenhagen, Anne Moll (Germany U19s)
24.02: Netherlands vs Germany (International tournament)
27.02: Germany vs Italy (International tournament)
Sofie Zdebel (Germany U20s)
22.02: Spain vs Germany (International tournament)
25.02: Germany vs Mexico (International tournament)
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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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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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…
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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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