"We will face a dynamic and strong team that use aggressive pressing. Potsdam, with a lot of attacking players on the pitch, are very ambitious in turnover play when they win the ball and that makes them so dangerous," warned Feifel. Potsdam finished fourth last season – there have been a number of changes in the squad over the summer.
As with the Werkself Women, Turbine also went through rebuilding in the summer break. Former player Sofian Chahed took over from Matthias Rudolph as coach and is leading his young squad into the new season. In addition to the coach, several long serving players left the club in the summer; with the new signings and remaining players Chahed now has the task of forming a new unit. Newcomers to the squad include the two former Bayer 04 players Merle Barth and Lena Uebach. However, there will be no reunion with the latter on the pitch on Sunday as the 20-year-old is sidelined after a recent knee operation.
The team does not appear to be fully up to speed as yet – the opening match against Bundesliga newcomers SV Meppen only produced a 1-1 draw but there was a 3-1 win against TSG Hoffenheim before the international break. In contrast, the Werkself go into Sunday’s clash with renewed confidence following two successive victories. Feifel's approach: "We will play with total aggression and have to show what we can do in every move from the start. We have to do a good defensive job, be prepared for challenges and try to be successful up front with targeted counter-attacks."
Ivana Rudelic is not available for the Potsdam game as she is still in self-isolation following one of her Croatia teammates testing positive for coronavirus. Long-term injury Pauline Wimmer (torn cruciate) and Nicole Banecki (illness) are also ruled out. Sofie Zdebel and Joyce Prabel are continuing to recover from torn muscles, Verena Wieder is back in rehab training following a torn cruciate. In last weekend's friendly against the Germany U19s (played behind closed doors) Ann-Kathrin Vinken suffered a bruised hip and is unavailable for the weekend as is Nina Brüggemann due to a calf injury that will probably keep her out of action for three or four weeks.
Milena Nikolic, who underwent an operation on her finger last week, which he broke in the home game against MSV Duisburg, was able to return for full training this week.
With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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A successful fourth preseason friendly ahead of the start of the training camp: The Werkself secured a 3-0 victory over Rot-Weiss Essen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The goals in what was a commanding and dominant performance by Leverkusen from the outset were scored by Ibrahim Maza (8'), Patrik Schick from the penalty spot (23’) and, in the second half, Montrell Culbreath with a header (79’). The team set off for their training camp in Blankenhain in the Weimarer Land region after the game.
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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 personal 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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You have voted – your ‘Team of the Quarter-Century’ has been decided! This historic selection, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, features honorary captains, Bundesliga champions, double winners and Champions League finalists. Edmond Tapsoba is the only player from the current Bayer 04 squad to make it into the starting XI, while his team-mate Patrik Schick is on the bench. Simon Rolfes, the current managing director sport, is also in the lie-up. A truly special team that brings together a quarter of a century of Bayer 04 history – and has left a decisive mark on the club.
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Following Patrik Schick, Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Kerim Alajbegovic earlier this week, the next World Cup participant is back on the training ground in Leverkusen: On Thursday 30 July, Malik Tillman rejoined the squad, completing his first training session under head coach Carles Martínez.
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