Cornelia Kramer made her first start for Denmark in the UEFA Women's Nations League. In her third international, the Leverkusen top goalscorer from last season was on the pitch in the 1-0 win against Wales until added time. Four days later, the 22-year-old came on at the start of the second half but was unable to help her team avoid a 6-1 defeat against Sweden. Denmark finished Group A4 in third place and are now in the relegation play-offs at the end of October.
Karolina Lea Vilhjalmsdottir also faces the play-offs to stay in League A with Iceland. The 23-year-old, who is set to leave Bayer 04 after two years on loan, was in the starting line-up for the 1-1 draw in Norway and the 2-0 defeat in France. Iceland finished third in Group A2 on four points after six games. The play-off matches to stay in League A will be played between 22 and 28 October, the draw for the matches between the second placed teams in League B has yet to be made.
Her Werkself teammate Lilla Turanyi had a less happy time with Hungary during the international break. Hungary's Women's Player of the Year in 2022 did play the full 90 minutes in the 1-0 defeat in Serbia and the 0-0 draw against Belarus. As one of the two worst third-placed teams in League B, Hungary go straight down to League C after picking up four points in six games.
The Germany U23 team coached by Kathrin Peter had two friendlies against the USA. Winger Julia Mickenhagen was in the starting line-up in the 2-1 defeat in the first match but the Germany U23s won 2-1 in the second game against the USA Women. The 20-year-old came on in the closing stages of the match and helped to secure the victory.
The Leverkusen duo of Estrella Merino Gonzalez and Delice Boboy celebrated two wins with the Germany U19s in two friendlies. First, the U19s – with right-back Merino Gonzalez and striker Boboy in the starting line-up – beat England 3-2. Four days later, the 18-year-old Boboy, who is set to join RB Leipzig next season, scored a brace in a 4-0 victory over France. Both Werkself players started in this match as well.
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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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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