Bayer 04 Leverkusen rattled in four quality goals in thirteen second half minutes to add to a first half strike to beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 5-0 at BayArena, ending Andre Schubert's unbeaten start in charge of die Fohlen.
Continue reading Werkself Back to Winning Ways in Bundesliga!
Bracknell Town have made changes to their first team management, with Keith Pennicott-Bowen departing and Mark Tallentire replacing him.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen endured more disappointment in the UEFA Champions League, going down to two late goals in Barcelona, but Roger Schmidt and his players have every reason to be proud of their performance at Camp Nou. Continue reading Champions League Heartbreak Once More
Roger Schmidt takes Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Barcelona as group leaders this evening. Can they take a point or three off the depleted European Champions? Continue reading UCL Preview: Can Werkself Cause a Shock in Catalunya?
Roger Schmidt's team went to Borussia Dortmund in good spirits following their emphatic midweek win in the Champions League, but return home with another heavy loss against Thomas Tuchel's rampant side. Continue reading Leverkusen Suffer Another Damaging Defeat
Wednesday night saw Bayer 04 Leverkusen kick off their UEFA Champions League campaign with a home match against BATE Borisov, whilst in Rome AS Roma hosted FC Barcelona Continue reading Fascinating Start in Group E
Bracknell Town's form in league and cup could not be starker in contrast, and The Robins will be hoping that continues as they travel into Gloucestershire on Saturday, hoping for an FA Cup upset. Continue reading Robins’ Cup Runneth Over!
Bayer 04 Leverkusen pulled off arguably the coup of transfer deadline day, by signing Mexican international Javier Hernandez for a reported fee of €12million. The transfer has certainly got supporters of die Werkself very excited.
Hernandez, affectionately known as “El Chicharito” – the Little Pea – has signed a three year contract, and has already made his Leverkusen debut in a friendly against SC Paderborn. While that game ended in a 2-0 defeat, there were signs of the options available now to Roger Schmidt. Hernandez partnered Stefan Kießling in attack, rather than the more conventional 4-3-3 setup. Hernandez did take a knock to the ankle during the game, but the club have said it is just a bruise.
Signing Hernandez will obviously benefit the team on the pitch, but perhaps the real benefits will be seen off the pitch. The player has more followers on social media than the club; in fact he even has more than Bayern Munich! The tweet from @bayer04fussball announcing his signing achieved more than fifteen thousand retweets, the most ever received by the club, and the Facebook post also received record amounts of “likes”.
It is hoped that signing Hernandez will open the club up to the fanatical football fans in Mexico. His signing has been heavily reported by his first club, Chivas Guadalajara, and should see the club pick up some new fans in the country, in much the same way as Heung-Min Son opened up the South Korean market and even attracted LG as the club's shirt sponsor.
It was thought that Hernandez would want Admir Mehmedi's number fourteen shirt, but he will wear the number seven shirt, a number which his father wore as a player. In fact, Javier Hernandez Gutierrez's influence on his son is patently clear; Hernandez junior is known as El Chicharito because his father was known as El Chicharo (the pea) due to his green eyes.
A goal poacher of the highest order, Hernandez is exactly the type of player that Roger Schmidt needed in his squad. If there's a loose ball bouncing around the penalty area, you can bet Hernandez will be on hand to bag a goal. He could not be joining a more harmonious and happy dressing room. The other players will make him very welcome, and he will be an integral part of the dressing room.
It promises to be a very exciting season for this already very exciting squad.
This article will be published in the Bracknell Town FC match day programme on Tuesday night for their game with Rayners Lane FC.
With the transfer window now closed until January, it's time to look at the business done by Rudi Voller and Roger Schmidt.
Continue reading Transfer Window Closed: Assessing Leverkusen’s Squad
Two ridiculous penalty decisions condemned Bayer 04 Leverkusen to a 3-0 defeat at the Allianz Arena, but the scoreline nowhere near reflects the game.
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