"Rafaela Borggräfe has developed into a top keeper over many years in Freiburg and has also gained international experience by moving to another top league," said Achim Feifel, Bayer 04 Women sporting director: "After some injury-related concerns in this position, she now completes our goalkeeper team, so we are well prepared for the challenges in the coming months."
Borggräfe played for SC Freiburg from 2013 to 2024, interrupted by a one-year loan to FC Aarau in Switzerland in 2020/21. She has played a total of 59 Bundesliga matches for Freiburg since making her debut in 2021 and reached the DFB Pokal final in 2019 and 2023. Last summer, the 25-year-old signed for Liverpool, where she made four appearances. She progressed through all the Germany youth teams and was selected for the senior national team for the first time in December 2024. Borggräfe was also in the extended squad for Euro 2025.
"I'm really looking forward to my time at Bayer 04 and to concentrating fully on our joint targets," says Borggräfe: "I want to take on responsibility here and play my part in the team's success."
Bayer 04 host Borussia Mönchengladbach at the BayArena on matchday 12 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The schedule for the game remains to be confirmed. The latest information on ticket sales.
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Bayer 04 host Eintracht Frankfurt at the BayArena on matchday 14 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The schedule for the game remains to be confirmed. The latest information on ticket sales.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the women's DFB-Pokal 2026/27
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“As far as mentality and determination are concerned, we have nothing to reproach ourselves for,” Robert Andrich said up after the first home defeat for the Werkself this term. In terms of their play, too, the Black and Reds put in a respectable performance for long stretches of this intense and physical match, outperforming VfB Stuttgart in most areas. It was only in terms of efficiency in front of goal that the Swabians had the edge over the Werkself. Head coach Carles Martínez wants to learn from this so that, in future, they can “win this sort of match too”. The Werkself review.
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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 working 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 personal 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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