For Charles Aránguiz and the Chile team there was a 2-1 defeat in the friendly against Honduras last night. The Werkself number 20 played the full 90 minutes in holding midfield in the away fixture in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula. After a good first 30 minutes and a deserved lead at half-time, La Roja were unable to reproduce the same performance in the second half – and they conceded two goals late on.
There was a more successful but also more relaxing time for Lucas Alario. The 26-year-old, who returned to the Argentina side after a two-year break in the goalless draw against Chile, did not play in the 4-0 victory inflicted by his fellow countryman on Mexico in a friendly. Instead he spent the 90 minutes on the bench at the Alamdome in the city of San Antonio in Texas.
Panagiotis Retsos was also able to celebrate victory for his country. Playing for the Greece U21 team, he was in the side that registered a 1-0 home win against Lithuania to further secure top spot in Group Four. As in Thursday's friendly against the Germany U21s, the 20-year-old led the Greece youngsters out as captain.
It was an evening of mixed feelings for U19 player Marc Lamti: He was on the winning side for the Tunisia U23s in a 2-1 victory against Cameroon and he did provide an assist. However, due to the away goals rule (after a 1-0 defeat in the first leg), his team just missed out on qualifying for the Africa U23 Cup of Nations as well as a place in next year's Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The Golden Boy Top 100 traditionally lists Europe’s most promising young players. In the latest update, published to mark the start of the new season, four current Werkself players – alongside loanee Francis Onyeka – feature on the list. This means Bayer 04 have the most players in contention of any Bundesliga club.
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Goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe will continue to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen next season. The loan of the Germany U23 international, who joined from Liverpool in the winter, has been extended by a further year.
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The Bayer 04 delegation, led by Fernando Carro, CEO, concluded their multi-day trip to Brazil with a visit to the community-based organisation Bola Pra Frente in Rio de Janeiro – founded by former Werkself player Jorginho. During the visit, Bayer 04 committed to extending support for the Bola Pra Frente project for a further five years. In addition, Jorginho, a member of the Brazil 1994 World Cup-winning squad, was named Bayer 04’s second official club legend. With the visit to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the club has strengthened the relationships built up over the years in one of Bayer 04’s most important international markets.
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Ten years after retiring as a player, Kristina Sundov is returning to the Bayer 04 Women’s team as assistant coach. The 39-year-old former Croatia international takes over from Remzi Kahraman, who has taken up a new challenge abroad. She has been given a contract to 30 June 2028.
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The training pitches at the BayArena are already buzzing with activity again, even before training officially begins next week. On Monday morning, a small group from the Werkself first-team squad completed a session lasting around an hour. Both new and familiar faces were present.
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