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"We are looking forward to the Pokal, the first game is always special and exciting. We have to be well-prepared," said Alonso at the pre-match press conference on Tuesday afternoon. The tie on Wednesday night will be the third meeting of the two clubs in competitive matches. Both previous games were in the DFB Pokal and each ended in wins for the Werkself.
Tomorrow's game will definitely not be a walkover as Alonso stressed. The Spaniard sees the league leaders from the Regional League North East as being in a "good moment". The team under head coach Henning Bürger have won all five league matches this term with new striker Erik Weinhauer in the spotlight having already scored ten goals.
The Werkself will have the support of 1,600 fans in the Pokal opener in Jena with the full away allocation taken up. Xabi Alonso has several players missing at the moment. In addition to the suspended Victor Boniface and Martin Terrier, Odilon Kossounou is also ruled out for the red card he was shown in last season's cup final against Kaiserslautern (1-0). Exequiel Palacios, who is still in rehab, is also unavailable. Asked about a possible comeback for the World Cup and two-time Copa América winner, Alonso said: "We hope to have Pala back after the international break – that is the plan at least."
Asked about current personnel, Alonso added: "We have a big squad with lots of options. Rotation in the team will be important again this season as it was in the last. I have confidence in every individual player."
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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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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