If you like Leverkusen, clap your hands…
By: Scott |
4 Comments
At some point between Germany’s 4-1 thrashing of England and 0-4 destruction of Argentina, I was leaving my building and crossed paths with a guy on his way in wearing a Bayern München shirt. Inspired by the camaraderie of the World Cup, I smiled and nodded, brothers-at-arms were we, putting the national good ahead of our club allegiances. Read the rest of this entry »
Ballack’s Back
By: Scott | 1 Comment
What does Bayer 04 Leverkusen have that SV Hamburg and VfL Wolfsburg don’t? Or Sevilla, Liverpool and Tottenham, for that matter? Gimme a “B”! Gimme an “A”!
After much careful scepticism and not a small amount of hope on the part of Werkself supporters, Michael Ballack has chosen his old club as his new club now that Chelsea have decided they can do just as well without him. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Bayer Leverkusen Team NewsWerkself Make World Cup History
By: Scott | 4 Comments
With all 32 nations having weighed in for their first match of the 2010 World Cup, it can accurately be said that everyone who wears a Leverkusen kit during the regular league season also has much to be proud of on an international level.
Beginning with Hans Sarpei’s involvement in Ghana’s win over Serbia, the Werkself Contingency have seen their sides leave their respective matches victorious. And just when everyone thought that Chile’s first win at a World Cup in 48 years was going to be the big story of the day, Arturo Vidal and his countrymen were nudged out of the spotlight by their Group H adversaries, Switzerland. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Bayer Leverkusen Team NewsWorld Cup Rising; A digression, but posted nonetheless
By: Scott | 3 Comments
Just six days before the start of the World Cup and I wake from a dream: Germany lead by a score of 38-1. I don’t know who we’re playing, but I know we’re still in the group stage. I am watching the match in a park, where there is a German market of the sort organisers used to set up at Sommerfest back when there was a Sommerfest here in Montreal, before in-fighting ruined it for the rest of us. In the park, there are people of all ages. Rowdies and retirees. Those there to support Germany, and those there just for the beer and atmosphere. A pretty girl offers me cake, but I decline and ask her name. I tell her to make one up, if she’d rather. She tells me her name is Peggy, tells me she has always loved the name Peggy and asks me if I love it, too. I tell her my name is Harvey. She says she will text me sometime. No numbers are exchanged. My eyes are drawn to an enormous German flag that someone has tied between two trees. I regret not having bought an enormous German flag of my own. I wake up. I check the time and wonder if I should also, just to be on the safe side, check the date. One never knows when one has accidentally slept through the start of the World Cup. But, no. There are still six days before the start of the World Cup. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Bayer Leverkusen Team NewsMatchday 34- Bayer 04 v Borussia Mönchengladbach: That’s a wrap.
By: Scott | 2 Comments
By now, anyone coming here knows that S.V. Bayer 04 Leverkusen played to 1:1 draw at Mönchengladbach on the final Saturday of the 2009/10 season. As I spent the bulk of that match hitting refresh on an extremely misbehaved ‘net stream, I’ll refer you to the official match recap for full details. Scattered notes and observations made from even more scattered flashes of actual match play- all with the stipulation that what others saw over 90 minutes might vary greatly from what I saw over what might just have capped out at 20 minutes- go like this: Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Bayer Leverkusen Team NewsTrouble comes calling
By: Scott | 1 Comment
Just ahead of the date National Team coach Jogi Löw gave to name the roster he’d be taking to represent Germany in South Africa, his phone began ringing.
The first call patched through from the Nordrhein-Westfalen region was from Simon Rolfes. As anticipated, he was calling to let Jogi know he would have to formally remove himself from the running due to the miserable knee problems that have kept him out of league play for most of the current Bundesliga season.
This was no great surprise to, but must have stung something fierce to 28-year-old defensive mid-fielder, who had held out as long as possible before having to accept that 2010 wasn’t going to be his year to shine.
The next call Löw took was less expected. It was from Rene Adler. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Bayer Leverkusen Team NewsMatchday 33- Bayer Leverkusen v Hertha Berlin; Kiss the lady goodnight
By: Scott | 3 Comments
If a man aspires to the highest place, it is no dishonour to him to halt at the second, or even at the third.
-Cicero
Well okay. But what about fourth?
It seems a bit callous to come here and complain about this weekend’s match and how our poor performance has quite possibly cost us the Champions League qualifying spot. When the whistle blew on a 1:1 draw at BayArena, visiting Hertha Berlin had to cope with something far worse. Fourth place and guaranteed European play doesn’t look so bad next to the absolute misery of dropping out of the league altogether. Nonetheless, for as much as Hertha fights to go out with a bang, we seem content to wrap up the year with a half-hearted whimper. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Bayer Leverkusen Team NewsMatchday 32- Bayer 04 v Hannover: Change of pace
By: Scott | Add Comments
Do forgive the tardiness of my post. Immediately following the match I went back to bed and lay there wondering whether or not it’d be okay to write this up and file directly from my iPod Touch, rather than take the 30-odd steps to my desk. When I finally managed to drag myself out of bed, I remained in a listless stupor. The sort of state I usually slip into when people talk to me about pointless things, like how smart their infant child is because it has, apparently against all expectation, managed to calculate the complex mathematics necessary for it to lift its own head. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Bayer Leverkusen Team NewsStuttgart cake now iced
By: Scott | 6 Comments
As though our recent fall down the ladder wasn’t enough to get Leverkusen supporters primed for another off-season of moping and misery, the troubles are now compounded with word that Rene Adler suffered a broken rib in this past weekend’s battle against Stuttgart. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Bayer Leverkusen Team NewsMatchday 31: VfB Stuttgart v Bayer Leverkusen- Another hurdle
By: Scott | Add Comments
Despite a €250,000 pledge from Bayer HealthCare to mark World Haemophilia Day, the Werkself were unable to stop the bleeding that has threatened to mar our Champions League aspirations this season. What had all the makings of a win for our side again ended in the other club’s favour, leaving Bayer 04 with a 2-1 loss to VfB Stuttgart. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Bayer Leverkusen Team News
Home 
