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"The position in the table is irrelevant to us. Anything is possible in football," said Alonso at the start of the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The Spaniard sees Darmstadt as a team who "play with passion, fighting spirit and good motivation." Alonso will prepare his team for an intense encounter: "We have to control this emotional part of the game well. I've played at that stadium. There's always a good atmosphere there. Darmstadt are currently fighting very hard to avoid relegation. I have great respect for the coach and the spirit of the team."
The Werkself, who will complete the final pre-match training session on Friday afternoon, will then set off for Darmstadt. For the match against the Lilies, Alonso will again be able to call on Edmond Tapsoba and Amine Adli who have returned from the Africa Cup of Nations. Both went out of AFCON this week at the Round of 16 stage and they were back in Leverkusen on Thursday. The Spaniard refused to say whether the two Werkself players would feature against Darmstadt: "They've come back in good shape and are fit. They know situations like this. They will train with us again for the first time. For us it's really great to have more options again."
Alonso also kept his cards close to his chest with regard to other players who might find a place in the starting line-up. The head coach said of the winter signing Borja Iglesias: "He is fit and a good player with brilliant motivation. That's very important to us." On Granit Xhaka , who is currently on four yellow cards, Alonso said: “We'll see if he plays. We definitely have enough players to make that decision. Everybody's well prepared."
Alonso will have to manage without Odilon Kossounou, who is still at AFCON, plus the injured players Victor Boniface, Arthur and Exequiel Palacios. In response to a question about the fitness of the Argentinian World Cup winner, Alonso said: "He's doing better. We are hoping for a quick recovery but we want to take it at the right pace and not be too hasty. We will watch his progress day by day. We remain positive."
1,700 Bayer 04 fans will support the Werkself in Darmstadt. The allocation has been sold out. There will be no away ticket office at the game.
With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.
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Last-minute ecstasy, huge disappointment and a historic performance on the European stage - 2025 was a real emotional roller coaster, especially for the U19s. A rousing run in the knockout phase secured the team a place in the final of the German championships, where they lost by the narrowest of margins. Despite the departure of several key players, the young Werkself team quickly regained their usual strength and qualified for the knockout rounds in the UEFA Youth League for the first time at the end of the year. In 2025, youngsters Jeremiah Mensah and Montrell Culbreath made their debuts in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. The other youth teams also contributed great performances and a number of trophies to the collective Black and Red success, while the successful Bayer 04 Future Kids project broke new ground. Read on for the 2025 review of the youth teams.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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A memorable 12 months: 2025 was a year marked by success, intense competition and groundbreaking innovations for the #B04eSports team. After ending the 2024/25 season as runners-up, the Leverkusen-based console pros got down to business in a new, completely restructured season model, in which showdowns rather than divisions were the decisive factor on the road to the final round of the German Club Championship. Bayer 04 quickly earned a place in the history books of the most prestigious competition in German eSports and secured some valuable advantages for the coming year. Bayer04.de takes a look back at 12 months full of passion and the determination to take the next step.
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Sustainability once again had many faces at Bayer 04 in 2025: In community activity, the club supported countless regional campaigns, including the Leverkusener Tafel, the Frauenennotruf Leverkusen e.V. and the homeless aid organisation "Kältegang". But the Black and Reds have also been involved in good causes around the world - including the Young Coaches training programmes in Uganda and Ecuador plus the Genuine World Cup in the USA, where the Inclusion Werkself competed. Bayer 04 was also fully committed to the environment and underwent external and independently certification in accordance with the European environmental management standard EMAS, for example, to analyse and optimise the club’s environmental efforts. Looking back at sustainability in 2025.
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