From London to Leverkusen: Callum Hudson-Odoi leaves his birthplace for the first time in his career as a football player to join Bayer 04. He joined Chelsea at the age of six and his Ghanaian father Bismark Odoi was also a professional footballer in Ghana. Callum progressed through all the youth teams at the Blues over the following eleven years. He made his debut for the U18s at the age of 15, the U23s at 16, and he finally stepped up to the senior squad in 2017.
The fast and technically gifted Hudson-Odoi made his Premier League debut on 31 January 2018 under the then Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte in a 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth. He made one more league appearance in his first season.
The right footer went on to play more frequently in England's top flight in the following years. He played nine games in the UEFA Europa League in 2018/19 and joined his teammates in celebrating winning the title after a 4-1 victory against Arsenal in the final. Hudson-Odoi played a significant role in Chelsea's European triumph with four goals and two assists.
The Londoner celebrated the biggest success of his short career to date in the following year by winning the UEFA Champions League. The winger played an important role in the 2020/21 Champions League campaign with two goals in seven games and, after beating Manchester City 1-0 in the final, he lifted the trophy together with Werkself home-grown player, scorer of the winner in the final, and teammate Kai Havertz. Callum also won the FIFA Club World Cup with the Blues.
Hudson-Odoi has learned one thing in particular in his time at Chelsea as he explained in an interview with fifa.com: "The mentality was for us to score goals or always look to finish. Team spirit was and is really important for that. You never play alone and success is only possible as a team."
At the age of 21, Hudson-Odoi can already look back at 72 appearances in the Premier League, 17 in the Champions League as well as nine in the Europa League.
The final whistle of the current 2025/26 season marks the end of a unique partnership for Bayer 04 Leverkusen. After more than three decades of collaboration and highly eventful times, the Bundesliga football club and the private brewery Bitburger are going their separate ways.
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Around four months after their bitter exit in the DFB Pokal Round of 16, the Bayer 04 Women are once again away to Hamburger SV. On Monday night (18:00 CEST), the Werkself will not only be looking to pick up important points in the final phase of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga at the Volksparkstadion, but also to make amends for their defeat on penalties.
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Eleven Bayer 04 players are in action for their national teams in this final international break in 2025/26. Among others, Patrik Schick is competing with Czechia for a ticket to the World Cup in the summer. The blog on games involving the Werkself...
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A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
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