Sven, you are away to Club Brugge for the start of the Youth League. Are preparations different for a European match compared with league games?
Hübscher: Fortunately we had our last match against Düsseldorf on Friday night. Nevertheless, the preparation time in comparison to a league match is obviously a bit shorter. In addition, around a game like that in the week there are several issues for the lads that don't crop up in games at the weekend. That primarily relates to school.
In the Youth League, up to three players born on or after 1 January 2003 are allowed per team. What do you think the opposition will be like?
Hübscher: The age structures and circumstances of teams in the Youth League are completely different. In comparison with Brugge for example, we will have a younger and less experienced team on the pitch. We go into the game with six younger U19 players and one U17 player. In contrast, Brugge have a second professional team where nearly all of the U19 players at the club play – and that's in the second division in Belgium. That means most of them have gained regular experience in professional football. So, we will face a very mature and grown-up team.
In the UEFA Youth league, there are rules applying to the squads that have to be maintained. That means at least 14 of the players nominated must have been the club for two calendar years or more. Six players can be included who have been at the club for less than two years. How does that rule affect putting the squad together at Bayer 04?
Hübscher: We have strengthened the U19 squad over the past two years with one or two new signings. Unfortunately we weren't able to take all of them with us due to the regulations. But it's clear we have put together the best possible squad.
The other group opponents are Porto and Atlético Madrid. Also big names in youth football…
Hübscher: That top level is also evident in every group in the Youth League as the youth teams of the best clubs in Europe are playing each other. Every game for us will be a challenge that we are very happy to take on.
What value does the Youth League have as an additional competition to the U19 Bundesliga and the DFB Youth Cup?
Hübscher: The Youth League is obviously a highlight for players, coaches and staff. We always fundamentally focus on the next match and approach each with 100% effort, which was the case last year. When the Youth League match is over it’s straight off to recovery and preparation for the next challenge.
That comes on Saturday in the DFB Youth Cup with the away tie at SSV Ulm 1846. That's a busy agenda and not least because of the long coach journeys to Bruges and Ulm…
Hübscher: And, on top of that, there's school for most of the lads. It's always said the lads are very close to the first team squad and professional football. But you should never forget that they still go to school and often have lessons into the afternoon. Some of them were doing exams a few hours ahead of the game in Bruges. The workload for the lads is incredibly high. But those are all things we support them with at the club as best as we can.
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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