VFL go into the international break in relaxed mood. A fine left-foot shot from striker Lukas Hinterseer with two minutes to play secured a 3-2 home win against Dynamo Dresden last Sunday and the first victory for Bochum on the fourth matchday of the current season. That Should certainly have improved the mood of new coach Ismail Atalan. At the same time, his team still needs to improve: The club from the Ruhr are 12th in the table on four points.
It was an unusual moment for the management on Castroper Straße to choose to part company with head coach Gertjan Verbeek: The strident Dutchman was dismissed in the middle of pre-season and replaced by Ismail Atalan from third division Sportfreunde Lotte. The 37-year-old's 'new' team is virtually unchanged from last season: Only two regular first choices have left the club while the attack has been strengthened – in Lukas Hinterseer and Dimitrios Diamantakos, VfL have signed two strikers with experience as pros in Germany. And there is another newcomer well known at Bayer 04: Robbie Kruse, who was still with the Werkself at the start of the year, joined the VfL attack force in July. However, he is currently away with the Australia national team and is therefore unavailable for a reunion with his old team-mates.
Just two and a half weeks separated the appointment of Atalan and the first game of the season against St. Pauli. It is clear that the team still has problems implementing the playing philosophy of the German-Kurdish coach. That has been made more difficult by a conversion rate that saw room for improvement – before Hinterseer's goal against Dresden, all VfL goals had been scored by defenders.
Since the first promotion to the Bundesliga in 1971, VfL had always succeeded in returning to the top flight in the first year after relegation. The club has now been in the second division for the last seven years. 2010 was the last time Bundesliga football was played in Bochum. The coach back then was Heiko Herrlich. The current Bayer 04 head coach managed Bochum in the 2009/2010 season. That was the first time the now 45-year-old head coach the team in Germany's top division. The club are aiming to return there over the medium term.
Given the strength of the competition and the rather bumpy start to the season it is unlikely there will be a return to the top flight for next season. The quality of the squad is, without doubt, above the average in the second division. It is up to Atalan to turn potential into points to be in with a shout of promotion to the Bundesliga.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04’s 3-0 win against SV 07 Elversberg in the 2nd round of the 2024/25 DFB Pokal…
Show moreThe Werkself are away to Union Berlin on Bundesliga Matchday 12. The game is on Saturday, 30 November, at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei with the kick-off at 15.30 CET. Here is the latest ticket information for the game.
Show moreBayer 04’s focus has quickly turned to their next game as they prepare to host Elversberg in the second round of the DFB Pokal on Tuesday (kick-off: 6pm CET). Ahead of the match, head coach Xabi Alonso spoke about the special nature of the cup, the last time the Werkself faced the now Bundesliga 2 side and the attributes needed for a successful evening at the BayArena.
Show moreElversberg is far from a new name for Bayer 04 fans in the DFB Pokal. It was only two years ago when the then 3. Liga side knocked the Werkself out of the competition in the first round. Now they come to the BayArena for a second-round encounter as a Bundesliga 2 club on Tuesday (kick-off: 6pm CET). Here’s all you need to know about our next opponents.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen have a new sleeve sponsor for their fixtures in the DFB Pokal, with Bayer brand Talcid set to feature on the holders’ shirts for the 2024/25 campaign. The team will play with the new sponsor for the first time in Tuesday’s second-round match at home to Elversberg.
Show more