A year with the youths

Another year full of wins, defeats, celebrations and disappointments is drawing to a close for the Bayer 04 youth teams. One of the highlights of 2023 was the U17s' year-long unbeaten run in the West Division. The U19s and U16s - like the U17s - are also riding high in the league this season. And there were some exciting, interesting and emotional stories beyond the pitch too. A look back at the youth teams in 2023.

March: U17s extend astonishing run

The U17s headed into the new year with huge momentum, having not lost a match in the Bundesliga West since 18 September 2022. And what no-one could have guessed at that point at the start of 2023 was that this run in the West Section would continue until the end of the year. In the spring, the U17s set off on a final push, winning all three of their remaining league matches - but missing out on second place and thus a place in the final round of the German Championship by one point. They had dropped too many points in the first few weeks of the season.

For the U17s, as well as the U19s (see below), this was followed by a special round of matches in which the 2022/23 youth Bundesliga season was reduced to a single round with no reverse fixtures. This was initiated at an early stage to enable everyone to plan ahead because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Coach Sergi Runge's U17 side cruised through the regional qualifying round of the special round with four wins from four games and a 10:1 goal difference. In the following national main round, the second-oldest Black and Red team then finished in second place behind FC Nürnberg and ahead of VfL Wolfsburg and Mainz 05.

March: Japanese delegation in Leverkusen 

A special visit took place in March: a delegation from Japanese partner club V-Varen Nagasaki visited Bayer 04 for two and a half weeks. Mixing German culture and Leverkusen footballing tradition, the players, coaches and officials of the second division club from Japan not only gained a comprehensive insight into the work of the Bundesliga club, but also gained impressions that went far beyond football. Find out more HERE.

April: U19s face Bayern and Hertha

The U19s finished the regional qualifying round (end of March to mid-April) in second place with five points from their three matches against Borussia Mönchengladbach, VfB Hilden and Bonner SC, which qualified them for the national main round. In this round, they faced Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin, among others, and came third with seven points out of a possible twelve.

April: The Bayer 04 youth section during Ramadan

At the end of March, two members of staff from the Bayer 04 youth setup gave an insight into a challenging issue. Shortly before the start of the fasting period during Ramadan, Lena Kadlec (Bayer 04 youth section sports nutritionist) and ex-professional footballer Assimiou Touré (integration officer at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre) spoke about the effects of fasting on young high-performance athletes. The tips for players, coaches and parents will of course also be helpful in the new year. Click HERE for the interview.

April: U16s finish maiden season in third place

The U16s had a successful maiden season in the Middle Rhine League. After 18 games, the team had racked up an impressive 40 points, finishing third in the table and bettered only by FC Köln and FC Viktoria Köln's older cohort.

May: The U8s' successful tour to the capital

The Olympic Stadium, sightseeing and a tournament win: Our youngest youth team enjoyed a successful trip to Berlin at the end of May. The Leverkusen U8s won the high-profile tournament organised by partner club FC Deetz with a maximum points haul, beating Tennis Borussia Berlin and Union Berlin, among others,along the way. A visit to Hertha Berlin's Bundesliga home match against VfL Bochum and a sightseeing tour rounded off the exciting weekend in the capital.

May: Association Cup final at the BayArena

The U19s played their last competitive match of the 2022/23 season in the Association Cup at the end of May - and the match turned out to be a real highlight! The final against FC Köln took place at the BayArena with 3,250 spectators in attendance. After Leverkusen cancelled out the visitors' early lead before the break, the game was decided by a deflected shot in the closing stages and Köln lifted the trophy after a 2-1 win.

June: Continuity in the coaching position

At the end of May, key personnel decisions were made in the youth section: Head coaches Sven Hübscher (U19s) and Sergi Runge (U17s) would continue their work and be joined by Benjamin Adam (U19s) and Adrian Grümer (U17s) as new assistant coaches for the upcoming season. Mirko Casper was also promoted from U15s to U16s head coach. Tobias Berg and Oliver Schoepp were brought in from outside the club for the younger youth cohorts.

June: Successful pilot project

First they passed the oral exam, then they mastered the practical part - and at the end they were handed their 'C' licence certificate: Seven Bayer 04 youth players from the U19 and U17 cohorts took part in the first club-run coaching course organised by the Fußball-Verband Mittelrhein (FVM), or Middle Rhine Football Association and successfully completed it in June. The pilot project was specially designed for the Leverkusen youngsters. Incidentally, Madi Monamay, Jardell Kanga, Oleksandr Petrenko and Artem Stepanov would also go on to pass their A2 exam at the end of the year. Congratulations to all of them!

August: A host of of Black and Reds represent black, red and gold

The Germany U17s squad boasted no less than six Leverkusen players in August: Jesper Schlich, Ferdinand Pohl, Francesco Buono, Montrell Culbreath, Ken Izekor and Francis Onyeka. In addition, Burak Kir and Josue Montorro spent the summer with the Germany U16s and Halil Koc and Justus Gubbels with the Germany U15s. Numerous Bayer 04 youngsters would also receive call-ups to the Germany youth squads - as well as to those of foreign nations - in the second half of the year. Among others, Reno Münz made his debut for the Germany U19s. Ben Hawighorst, Jeremiah Mensah and Nebe Sirak Domnic would also be first-choice players for the Germany U16s over the next few months. In line with this, the Werkself magazine took a closer look at the 20 national players from Bayer 04's female and male youth teams in issue 44 (in German). Click here for the story (from page 58)!

September: A highly successful weekend

No doubt about it, that weekend in mid-September saw a number of successes from the Black and Reds: The U19s triumphed in the league against FC Köln (2-1) as did the U13s in the Youth Cup (3-0). In addition, the U14s (4-3) and U12s (5-2) scored plenty of goals in their wins over Schalke 04. Long may it continue!

October: U17s go top of the table

At the end of October, the U17s won the crucial clash against Schalke 04 at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre by a convincing 3-0 - and subsequently celebrated what was their ninth win in their 11th league match and also going top of the table.

November: U19s impress in every respect

After the previous season's tenth-place finish in the Bundesliga West, the U19s got back on the road to success in the first few months of the 2023/24 campaign. The emphatic away win at Arminia Bielefeld on 11 November was the ninth success in their eleventh league match, so there was plenty to celebrate afterwards. Incidentally, the two defeats came against the two top teams Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund.

December: Incredible run for the U17s

Following the 2-0 home win against FC Köln in mid-December, one thing was certain: Leverkusen's U17s had gone a whole year without a single defeat in the Bundesliga West. You simply have to congratulate the team and the coaching staff led by Sergi Runge!

December: Continued strong commitment

The parents of the Bayer 04 U8 to U15 teams once again took part in the broadcaster WDR's "Christmas Miracle" fundraising campaign this year. In the end, the privately initiated campaign, which this year was in aid of mothers in need, raised the impressive sum of €2,200 - a fantastic gesture so close to Christmas!!