Lara Marti and her Swiss teammates had the chance to qualify for the European Championship finals in England in 2022 with the two legs against Czechia on 9 and 13 April. Switzerland – Marti came on as a sub on 65 minutes – drew 1-1 with the Czechs in the first leg.
The return match was even more exciting with a scoreline of 1-1 after 90 minutes. The game went into extra time and, after 30 minutes without a goal, to penalties with Switzerland winning 3-2 to secure their place at the European Championship finals. Marti again came on as a substitute in the second leg (87') but had to go off on 104 minutes due to the 21-year-old suffering a knock in extra time.
Henrietta Csiszár, Dóra Zeller and Lilla Turányi made their way to Hungary. A ten-day training camp enabled the team to get to know their new national coach. The former Germany international and Germany assistant coach Margret Kratz took over the post with Hungary last month. The training camp ended with a friendly on Tuesday afternoon, 13 April, against Bosnia-Herzegovina – the game ended in a goalless draw. Turányi played up to the 68th minute, Csiszár and Zeller did not feature.
Mina Tanaka made two appearances for the national team. She played for Japan in two friendlies against Paraguay (8 April) and Panama (11 April) – with Japan winning both games 7-0. The Bayer 04 striker came off the bench against Paraguay on 67 minutes and scored the final goal in added time. The 26-year-old came on for the final eleven minutes against Panama.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed Kerim Alajbegovic’s transfer to Italian record champions Juventus. The club brought the 18-year-old attacking player back to Leverkusen this summer via a buy-back option, following a season at Red Bull Salzburg. Until his move to Austria, the Bosnia international had been playing for Bayer 04’s Under-19s.
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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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