Bayer Leverkusen

[Oliver_Kahn]

Bayer 04 had already booked their place in the UEFA Cup on Matchday 33 but the final game of the season was very emotional nonetheless. Numerous Bayer 04 supporters were fighting to hold back their tears when their favourites Juan and Andrej Voronin were seen off by Wolfgang Holzhäuser and Rudi Völler.
Furthermore the other “departures” Fredrik Stenman, Ahmed Madouni, Marko Babic and Jörg Butt were all presented with a picture and a watch. And Michael Skibbe also kept his promise of looking to Butt in goal.

It was the only change the coach made to his side in the attempt to put on an exciting display in the final game of the season.

With Dortmund also needing a win to keep their hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Intertoto Cup alive the match got off to a flying start.

BVB look brighter

On five minutes Smoralek just missed Dede’s centre and over at the end Voronin failed to beat Weidenfeller with his attempted chip.

Butt was called into action for the first time on eight minutes. Kruska’s cross fell for Kringe but his shot was good enough to trouble the Bayer ‘keeper. Three minutes later Schneider gave up possession in midfield, Valdez was bearing down on goal but Juan managed to stop him.

The visitors definitely looked the better side early on and they thought they had scored first too. Wörns found the back of the net but referee Gagelmann disallowed the strike for a Brzenska foul on Stefan Kießling (22’).

Bayer increase the tempo

Eight minutes later Butt was lucky that three Dortmund players failed to make contact with a whipping cross from the right.

Bayer increased the tempo in the dying minutes of the first half. Voronin forced Weidenfeller into making a spectacular save with a blistering free-kick from the edge of the area. Sahin came to his side’s rescue after the following corner when he cleared Juan’s attempt off the line and on 44 minutes Keißling rattled the post with a header.

A goal seemed imminent and Bayer scored in additional time. Juan released Keißling and the striker scored with a thunderbolt from 20 metres.

Great goal

Bayer continued where they left off before the break and got a great second goal. Bayer passed the ball forward from deep inside their own half and Simon Rolfes finished the move in style after Bernd Schneider’s pass (54’).

The Bayer fans were happy with their team and celebrated but the Dortmund supporters were also in a good mood because arch-rivals Schalke failed to win the championship.

Bayer stepped down a couple of gears on the pitch and Dortmund hit back. Gordon’s goal was disallowed because three Dortmund players were offside but Smolarek’s strike did count. The striker cashed in on a misunderstanding between Butt and Juan and headed home (79’).

“You’ll never walk alone”

All of a sudden the game was extremely exciting and Butt made a great save to deny Valdez. Over at the other end Voronin was unlucky to see his attempt hit the post (88’).

Two minutes later the Ukrainian international took his final bow in the BayArena when he was replaced by Paul Freier. Voronin left the field to a standing ovation from the crowd and to “You’ll never walk alone”.

Ricken miss

In the dying seconds of the match Ricken missed the chance to grab an equaliser after a corner.

After the final whistle the Bayer players celebrated finishing fifth and can look back on a successful campaign.

Bayer 04: Butt - Castro, Juan, Callsen-Bracker, Stenman - Schwegler, Rolfes - Kießling, Schneider, Barnetta – Voronin

Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller - C. Metzelder, Brzenska, Wörns, Dede - Kruska - Kringe, Tinga - N. Sahin - Valdez, Smolarek

Goals: 1-0 Kießling (45’ + 1), 2-0 Rolfes (54’), 2-1 Smolarek (79’)

Substitutions: 46’ Babic for Stenman, 56’ Gordon for Kringe, 56’ P. Degen for N. Sahin, 67’ Ricken for Tinga, 72’ Athirson for Barnetta, 90’ Freier for Voronin

[Oliver_Kahn]

Santos and Leverkusen looking at Rivaldo

Der alternde Star ist auf der Suche nach einem Klub

Nachdem der 36-Jährige vor kurzem Olympiakos per sofort verlassen hat (4-4-2.com berichtete), ist der Brasilianer jetzt auf der Suche nach einem neuen Klub. Der ehemalige Weltmeister möchte noch ein bis zwei Jahre in Europa spielen. In Spanien und Italien scheint der Spieler nicht mehr grosses Interesse zu wecken. Aus Brasilien ist zu vernehmen, dass der Offensivmann in der Bundesliga angeboten wurde. Kontakte zu Hannover 96, Hertha BSC und Eintracht Frankfurt haben aber bisher noch keinen möglichen Vertrag eingebracht, der Spieler soll mehr als 1 Million Euro Netto-Gehalt verlangt haben. Jetzt ist der FC Santos scharf auf den Spieler. Rivaldo könnte der Ersatz für den abwanderungswilligen Zé Roberto (Bayern, Bayer, Milan) sein.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Leverkusen keen on Manuel Friedrich

Leverkusen verhandelt mit Nationalspieler Manuel Friedrich

Fußball-Nationalspieler Manuel Friedrich steht vor einem Wechsel von Erstliga-Absteiger FSV Mainz 05 zum Bundesligisten Bayer Leverkusen. Eine Entscheidung über einen eventuellen Vertragsabschluss zwischen Friedrich und dem Werksclub werde in der kommenden Woche fallen, sagte Bayer-Geschäftsführer Wolfgang Holzhäuser der Deutschen Presse-Agentur dpa am Sonntag. Es seien noch weitere Gespräche nötig, meinte Holzhäuser. «Wir haben aber mehrere Möglichkeiten», schränkte der Bayer-Geschäftsführer ein.
Holzhäuser wollte sich nicht auf Friedrich festlegen. Die Zeitung «Express» hatte den Kontrakt bereits als perfekt gemeldet.

Transfermarkt.de

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VfL Osnabrück keep on strengthening for next season: the promoted team have signed Bayer Leverkusen youngster Pierre de Wit.

The 19-year-old comes in a season's loan from Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

De Wit has so far played 50 Regional League matches for Bayer reserves and four Bundesliga matches for the first team.

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This will be a tasty treat: On the 29th of July, AS Roma will play Bayer in a pre-season friendly.

The game will kick off at 5pm in the BayArena.

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Slovakia international Vratislav Gresko has agreed a move to Bayer Leverkusen.

The 29-year-old, who made 15 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit between 1999 and 2001, will be handed a two-year deal at the BayArena should he successfully complete a medical at the start of next week.

"We are looking forward to having Vratislav Gresko as he is just the player we need," Bayer chief executive Rudi Voller told Kicker.

"We will be in Europe next season and we need a large squad with plenty of depth."

Gresko, who has also played for Internazionale, Parma and Blackburn Rovers, made 15 appearances for Nurnberg last season, but the DFB Cup winners decided against extending his contract this summer.

Sky Sports - The Best Sport Coverage From Around The World

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It was the day of the great Rhein Derby between Gladbach and Leverkusen, a day many football fans will never forget.

October 30, 1998. A date Bayer Leverkusen fans are only too happy to recall, while fans of Borussia Mönchengladbach are only eager to forget that on this day Gladbach suffered their worst defeat in the squad's Bundesliga history.

Early Kirsten goal

Not even ten minutes had gone by in this 10th game of the 1998-99 season before 25,500 excited fans had occasion to watch the beginning of the end for Gladbach. And who else better to start the thrashing than Leverkusen's striker Ulf Kirsten.

The goal chummed the waters for the "Schwatte", who scored again in the 16th minute to make it 2-0, and then later connected on a penalty kick in the 40th minute to put the lead at 4-0.

"Goal-getter" Ze Roberto

Ze Roberto, known more for set up skills, was actually the guy who spoiled his teammate's chance of a making perfect hat trick in the 34th minute. Gladbach goalie Robert Enke may well have been the "most pitiable athlete in world history" at 16:15 CET on this afternoon.

For Gladbach's head coach Friedel Rausch, the match was a debacle by any standard after just 45 minutes, while his counterpart Christoph Daum strutted with pride.

Rausch before debacle

Rausch's locker room harangue seemed to bear fruit, because crowd favourite Toni Polster cut the lead to 1-4 shortly after the second half had resumed. Were they on their way to a comeback? No chance. Less than five minutes later, Jens Nowotny re-established the four-goal lead.

And things were to get worse for Borussia. Substituting for Kirsten, Thomas Reichenberger stepped right into the starter's shoes and scored twice (58th, 60th minute).

Kovac heaps it on

The shooting gallery hadn't come to an end, not yet. In the 64th minute, Niko Kovac made it an unbelievable 8-1. Chiquinho did score (68th minute) to bring it 2-8, but this goal is only of interest to statisticians. When Heynemann blew the final whistle, everyone was somehow happy to see it end�

In the second leg, Leverkusen won again against Bayer � admittedly "only" 4-1. Kirsten scored three times in this match as well.

Gladbach hits all time low

Gladbach seemed at their lowest point after the 2-8 drubbing � or they were at least well on their way. A 1-7 embarrassing performance followed just a week later in Wolfsburg after 90 minutes of pitiful play.

By seasons end, long-time coach Rainer Bohnhof had coached Gladbach for the first time to the 2. Bundesliga. No surprise.

One-time disgrace

The one consolation for Gladbach fans is that haven't yet had to experience another sound thrashing in a Derby, not to mention a Rhein Derby.

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Bayer Leverkusen kicked off their pre-season schedule with a training session on Monday. Coach Michael Skibbe is convinced the team will improve.

300 fans turned up to welcome the squad back, and took the opportunity to welcome the latest additions to the team. Theofanis Gekas, Lukas Sinkiewicz, Hans Sarpei, Manuel Friedrich and Sascha Dum were among the 18 players that participated in the session.

Head Coach Michael Skibbe explained that he has a masterplan for the coming weeks, saying, "We are not just going to concentrate on stamina and condition. We are also aiming to work on technique and skill. The players have been given individual training plans, enabling an optimal season preparation."

Furthermore, Skibbe was quick to point out that Leverkusen are aiming to improve on last season's fifth-place finish. He believes his team can do that in a stylish manner, saying, "We are out to play successful and attractive football. In that respect, our aim is to grow as a team as quickly as possible."

Defence and attack

The next training sessions will be concentrating on improving the teams defensive capabilities. Last season, Bayer Leverkusen conceded 49 goals, a stat that must be improved on if the club is to get back into the Champions League. "We let in far too many goals last season. We have to be more stabile in defence" commented Skibbe, who has place a lot of faith in his new central defenders Lukas Sinkiewicz and Manuel Friedrich. According to Skibbe, the new pairing "could be important factors in our defence."

Naturally both the club and the fans will be anxious to see new signing Gekas continue his amazing scoring run. The Greek striker bagged 20 for Bochum last season, making him the leagues top scorer. "I believe he can score just as many this time around as he did with Bochum" said Skibbe. "But we shouldn't expect too much. He will need a certain time to adapt."

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Midfielder Pierre de Wit has left Bayer 04 to join second division VfL Osnabrück on a one-year loan deal. The 19-year-old made four appearances as a substitute in the Bundesliga last season. Striker Tevfik Köse who played 28 games for Bayer 04 II in the Regionalliga last season has joined Turkish first division outfit Ankaraspor on a two-year loan year and will then return ...

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Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Hamburg-based SPORTFIVE GmbH & Co KG have agreed a marketing cooperation for the next eight Bundesliga seasons. Bayer 04 Marketing GmbH will be founded on 01 July 2007 in order to intensify the marketing of the Bundesliga outfit in cooperation with SPORTFIVE

“We are delighted to have found a strong partner in SPORTFIVE. Together we can develop and strengthen the marketing of Bayer 04 brand,” said Bayer 04 managing director Wolfgang Holzhäuser.

Sporting and economical sovereignty secured

Holzhäuser made it quite clear that the character of Bayer 04 Leverkusen (small, nice, perfect and personal) will not be changed. Furthermore, it is also important to outline that the “sporting and economical sovereignty” of Bayer 04 Leverkusen has been defined in the contract.

Another important result of the long-term relationship is the fact that Bayer 04 Leverkusen have taken another major step in have economical planning reliability.

Optimise use of SPORTFIVE marketing structures

Thomas Röttgermann, managing director of SPORTFIVE, is extremely optimistic. „Bayer 04 Leverkusen have been one of the leading clubs in the Bundesliga for years. They are ambitious and have a professional management. Together with the club we will do everything we can to ensure a successful future.”

Röttgermann continued to explain that it would be important to optimise the use of the SPORTFIVE Group’s marketing structures. The fact that the BayArena will be modernised and extended (capacity of over 30,000) obviously plays a major role because of the improved marketing chances.

Two managing directors

The economical key data remained undisclosed. Meinholf Sprink (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) and Martin Kowalewski (SPORTFIVE) will be installed as the new managing directors of Bayer 04 Marketing GmbH. Furthermore SPORTFIVE will send five employees to Leverkusen who will work closely with Bayer 04 employees.
Consequently Bayer 04 Leverkusen will not renew the marketing cooperation with the Cologne-based agency SportsFirst GmbH. The contract will therefore expire on 30 June 2007.

SPORTFIVE cooperate with more than 40 football associations

About SPORTFIVE: As the European leader in the field of sports rights marketing, SPORTFIVE cover the whole spectrum of sports rights marketing from, recruitment of a suitable shirt sponsor, marketing of advertising panels in the stadium, organisation of hospitality events, marketing of TV and Internet rights, and the development of marketing concepts. In all, SPORTFIVE has cooperations with more than 40 football associations and over 250 clubs. On top of its leading role in the field of football marketing, SPORTFIVE is also active in many other international professional sports arenas such as rugby, boxing and handball.

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The German Football League (DFL) has released the schedule for the 2007/2008 season. Bayer 04 will start their campaign with a home game against Energie Cottbus on 11 or 12 August. Match Day 2 will see Bayer 04 travel to Hamburger SV with newly promoted Karlsruher SC paying a visit to the BayArena on Match Day 3.

“We can live with the schedule. It is great to start the season with a home game,” said Bayer 04 sporting director Rudi Völler. Ticket information on the Bayer home game will be released shortly. Any orders received before that date will not be accepted!

1. Spieltag 10.-12.08. Bayer 04 - Energie Cottbus
2. Spieltag 17.-19.08. Hamburger SV - Bayer 04
3. Spieltag 24.-26.08. Bayer 04 - Karlsruher SC
4. Spieltag 31.08.-02.09. FC Schalke 04 - Bayer 04
5. Spieltag 14.-16.09. Bayer 04 - VfL Bochum
6. Spieltag 21.-23.09. Hannover 96 - Bayer 04
7. Spieltag 25.-26.09. 1. FC Nürnberg - Bayer 04
8. Spieltag 28.-30.09. Bayer 04 - FC Bayern München
9. Spieltag 05.-07.10. Eintracht Frankfurt - Bayer 04
10. Spieltag 19.-21.10. Bayer 04 - Borussia Dortmund
11. Spieltag 26.-28.10. VfB Stuttgart - Bayer 04
12. Spieltag 02.-04.11. Bayer 04 - Arminia Bielefeld
13. Spieltag 09.-11.11. VfL Wolfsburg - Bayer 04
14. Spieltag 23.-25.11. Bayer 04 - MSV Duisburg
15. Spieltag 30.11.-02.12. Hertha BSC - Bayer 04
16. Spieltag 07.-09.12. Bayer 04 - Hansa Rostock
17. Spieltag 14.-16.12. Werder Bremen - Bayer 04

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Bayer 04 take on FC St Pauli in the first round of the DFB Cup on August 4 or 5, 2007. Silke Rottenburg, goalkeeper of the Women’s National Team and Mathias Sammer, Sports Director of the DFB, allotted the second division team to our club. ...

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Bayer 04 held their first training session of the new season on Monday afternoon in front of roughly 300 spectators. Coach Michael Skibbe welcomed 18 players, among them the new signings Theofanis Gekas, Lukas Sinkiewicz, Hans Sarpei, Manuel Friedrich and Sascha Dum.

The professionals had their first relaxed exercise unit in very good spirits. In the coming five weeks until the start of the Bundesliga on August 11 / 12 the fitness and tactical foundations for a successful season have to be laid.

Grow together as fast as possible

„We will not just boost condition during the first week, but we will also work much on the technique. The players get their individual training plans so that everyone can prepare optimally“, says Skibbe. „We want to show very successful but also attractive football this season. Therefore our most important aim is to grow together as fast as possible.“

As usual it will be important that the new signings are integrated within shortest time. Among them is also Vratislav Gresko who did not take part in today’s training yet as he has to undergo a sports medical examination first of all.

Vidal at the U20 World Cup

Bernd Schneider (extended holidays), Arturo Vidal (playing for Chile at the U20 World Cup in Canada) and Athirson (played a game for the Fifa’s World Selection in Hongkong) did also not attend the first training session.

Michael Skibbe wants to make the improvement of the defence work a top priority in the preparation. “We’ve conceded just too many goals last season, we have to become more stable is this aspect.”, says the coach who expects much from his new central defenders Lukas Sinkiewicz and Manuel Friedrich. “Both of them can become great pillars of our defence.”

First test on Friday

Bayer04-fans can also look forward to the topscorer of the last season Theofanis Gekas. “I think he is capable of a similar goal quota like the one at VfL Bochum. But we should not pitch our expectations too high. Even he needs an adequate settling in period”, says Skibbe.

Bayer 04 will have their first test game next Friday at the fifth division team Wülfrath (6.30 p.m.). On Sunday there will be another test at the eighth division team Sportfreunde Helrath.