
Two weeks after the Bayer 04 goalkeeper Niklas Lomb visited the soccer school, it was the turn of Werkself defender Jonathan Tah to attend the "somewhat different" media event following today's training session.
At 12.30, the Werkself number four reached the packed press conference room at the BayArena with the 6- to 14-year-old kids from the Bayer 04 Soccer School waiting full of excitement. A few minutes later there was huge joy and applause when the door finally opened and the central defender entered the room.




Following the vocal welcome, the youngsters had the chance to put a wide variety of questions the giant defender: On his career as a football player, his best memories in a Black and Red shirt or his best buddy in the team. The answer from the Hamburg-born player to the last question: Edmond Tapsoba who the 26-year-old has formed the central defensive partnership at Leverkusen with since 2020.
The biggest laugh came in response to the question of which of his Germany teammates "fools about most." After a moment's thought, it was clear to Tah, who has been at Leverkusen since 2015: Leroy Sané – "He is definitely the biggest joker with his 'mop of hair' and he always has a cheeky word or two to say."




At the end of the questions, all of the 60 children were able to get one or several autographs on drink bottles, rucksacks or different parts of the kit. The requests covered a wide area: It didn't matter whether it was the shoulder or the number on the back – Tah met all the children's wishes, answering more questions from the inquisitive kids and he also took a number of selfies. One or two children thought of friends and family and they went for it two or three times: "For grandad, my best mate and the rest of the family," said one beaming boy.
Before Jona said goodbye there was time for a group photo with the smiling children and teenagers proudly standing in front of, behind and next to the defender.
A very successful afternoon for the visibly happy youngsters at the Bayer 04 Soccer School. And Tah was also enthusiastic about the event: "Events like this just make the most fun because you can see the excitement in the kids’ eyes and, of course, you get completely different questions than usual. (He laughs)”

It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
Show more
“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
Show more
Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
Show more
There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
Show more