Isabel Kerschowski is coming full circle: The Berliner joined Bayer 04 from Turbine Potsdam in 2012. That was followed by a spell at VfL Wolfsburg (2014-18) and finally a return to the Werkself. The defender is now heading home to Potsdam. The move is not easy for the 33-year-old, “at the end of the day it was a decision of the heart. I can get back to my wife and family and end my playing days where it all started,” Kerschowski said in explaining her decision. “I’ll leave with a smile on my face and a tear in my eye. I’ve always really felt at home here. It’s a great team and I’ve been able to help the side achieve our targets with my experience.”
After returning three years ago, the seven-time champion of Germany, five-time cup winner and Champions League winner and Olympic Gold winner in 2016 took up a leading role in the team and wore the captain’s armband. Then came a bitter blow after three games: The 21-cap Germany international suffered a torn cruciate and was out of action for a year. She fought her way back through great strength of will – ‘Isy’ was back to her best this season and did not miss a single match. She has made a total of 73 appearances for Leverkusen to date.
“We can fully understand Isy’s wish to return home to her family. When she returned in 2018, she wanted to help the team establish themselves again after promotion to the Bundesliga. Even though her plan was disrupted by the serious injury, it work out looking back and we’re very grateful about that,” said Linda Schöttler, women’s team general manager at Bayer 04. “We will definitely miss her experience and her personality.”
Henrietta Csiszár is also leaving the club at the end of her contract after five years in a black and red shirt. The Hungary international was one of leaders in the Bayer 04 team in her first season. At times, she did lead the team onto the pitch as vice-captain. After relegation to the second division in 2017/18, Csiszár remained loyal to the club and went on to play a key role in getting promoted to the top-flight again. The experienced 27-year-old, with 109 appearances for the Werkself, wants to take the next step in her carrier and is considering a move abroad.
“I’d like to thank the club and the team for five unforgettable years. It was a tough decision for me as I’ve experienced loads of great moments here – such as going straight back up, staying up two years ago and the matches as captain. It was a great honour for me. I wish the team all the best and lots of success in the future,” said Csiszár.
“Heni developed incredibly here with us. She played a crucial role – both on and off the pitch in the overall development of our team. After five years at Bayer 04 we can understand her desire to take on a new challenge. We’ll be sad to see her go and we wish her all the best,” said Schöttler.
In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
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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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