In the spring and summer of last year, a number of Werkself players similarly made the day of children at the Bayer 04 Soccer School. This time it was Nadiem Amiri who was happy to field a host of questions from the curious children and teenagers.
90 children came together after lunch and a stadium tour in the press conference room at the BayArena and eagerly awaited the arrival of the midfielder. There was huge applause when Amiri entered the room. The vocal welcome was followed by plenty of questions. The 6- to 14-year-olds questions included: "When did you start playing football?," "Who is your favourite player?," What's a day in the life of a professional footballer like?" Amiri revealed that his favourite game in a black and red shirt was the 4-3 home win against Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga in the 2019/20 season where he set up two goals.
One of the children wanted to know what Amiri was thinking when he made his Bundesliga debut. The answer from the 25-year-old midfielder: "It was one of the best days of my life. I always wanted to be a professional football player and I'm grateful for that every day. I came onto the pitch back then in the game against VfL Wolfsburg and I was thrown into the deep end straightaway because it felt like I only got to know about it 30 minutes earlier." The question about who he gets on best within the team set our number 11 thinking: "I actually got on very well with everybody." He added: "But I've known Kerem (Demirbay, ed), Karim (Bellarabi,ed) and Jonathan (Tah, ed), the longest – and I can speak German to them and that's not bad either. (He laughs)"
Following the round of questions there was obviously time for lots of autographs and photos. The 25-year-old Werkself midfielder signed shirts, shorts and boots and also mobile phone cases. After a group photograph, Amiri headed off to training leaving behind a roomful of beaming and clearly happy youngsters in the press conference room at the BayArena. The children then had another training session.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with U19 goalkeeper Simeon Rapsch. The Germany youth international goalkeeper has signed a long-term contract with the Werkself running to 30 June 2029. The 18-year-old joined Leverkusen from FC Viktoria Köln in the summer of 2024.
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Ken Izekor is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen to join third-tier side Alemannia Aachen with immediate effect. The 19-year-old centre-forward joined the club from Alemannia in 2018, and Izekor is now returning to his hometown.
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The Golden Boy Top 100 traditionally lists Europe’s most promising young players. In the latest update, published to mark the start of the new season, four current Werkself players – alongside loanee Francis Onyeka – feature on the list. This means Bayer 04 have the most players in contention of any Bundesliga club.
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Bayer 04 have named Jorginho, a 1994 World Cup winner with Brazil, an official club legend. He is the second former Werkself player, after Paulo Sergio, to be accorded this special honour. For many years, the former Leverkusen defender has been deeply committed to helping people in need in his home city of Rio de Janeiro. More than 25 years ago, Jorginho launched the Bola pra Frente project, through which he uses the money he earned as a player – including during his time at Bayer 04 – to support children and young people in the favelas in particular. During a trip to Brazil lasting several days, Fernando Carro, CEO at Bayer 04, assured Jorginho of the club’s support for Bola pra Frente for at least another five years.
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Goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe will continue to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen next season. The loan of the Germany U23 international, who joined from Liverpool in the winter, has been extended by a further year.
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