Club Haberleri

After Vertessen took his first steps as a budding professional footballer at Belgian clubs FC Rillaar Sport and KVC Westerlo, he was brought to PSV Eindhoven’s youth academy at the age of eight. There, the right-footer passed through all the youth departments and by the time he was playing for the U17s his decision had been entirely justified; his 25 goals in 29 games helping him and the club win the Dutch B-Junior Championship in 2018. His 13 goals for the U19s also helped them win the championship. In the summer of 2019, the current Belgium U21 international was then promoted to the second team of the current Eredivisie leaders, where he also impressed and became increasingly part of the first team from 2020/21. By the end of that season, he had made 15 appearances in the domestic league and two appearances in the UEFA Europa League, paving the way for a permanent place in the senior team.

The Wolves lost 3-1 at home to Mainz 05 at the Volkswagen Arena in their final match of the season. Kevin Paredes put VfL in front early on (18’) but Brajan Gruda (24’), Sepp van den Berg (71’) and Jonathan Burkardt (85’) turned the contest on its head for the visitors to secure their league status. Seventeen-year-old Bennit Bröger celebrated his first few Bundesliga minutes as a late replacement for injured substitute Patrick Wimmer.

Boris Rupert reporting from Leverkusen

#VFBBMG: Match Facts All of the key facts and figures ahead of the Foals’ final game...

After making his professional debut against Hoffenheim (3-1 loss), followed by two cameos against Union Berlin (2-0 win) and Dortmund (5-1 loss), Mert Kömür was handed his first start on the final day in Leverkusen. Head coach Jess Thorup was without Patric Pfeiffer (ill), as well as Kristijan Jakić, Ruben Vargas (both knocks) and Kevin Mbabu (yellow-card suspension). Kömür, Arne Maier and Mads Pedersen replaced the trio in the starting XI. 

Leverkusen came into the game on a 50-game unbeaten run across all competitions, having already been crowned Bundesliga champions. The Werkself were dominant from the start, keeping FCA on the back foot. The hosts opened the scoring in the 12th minute through Victor Boniface, who tapped in the opener after Amine Adli put pressure on Tomáš Koubek following a back pass. A quarter of an hour later, the hosts would go on to double their lead through Robert Andrich. A corner found its way to Jonathan Tah, whose shot was deflected and fell to Andrich, who slotted home a back-heel goal (28′). 

FCA went close in the 32nd minute, as Ermedin Demirović’s shot from the edge of the box was blocked by Tah. Thorup was then forced to make a change just before the break, as Tim Breithaupt was unable to continue after a collision with Exequiel Palacios. Arne Engels came on in his place. 

Underperforming on the pitch and embroiled in a few controversies off it, Mané seems to be a very strong candidate to be a one-and-done performer in Bavaria. In a report from Sport Bild reporters Tobi Altschäffl and Christian Falk (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), the journalists paint the picture of Mané being “isolated” after his altercation with Leroy Sané — and also a strong candidate to leave the club during the summer transfer window:

In November 2007, Marcus Urban became the first German professional footballer to come out. The former East German youth international didn’t want to live in denial, and thus ended his career with RW Erfurt in 1993. Since coming out, the 52-year-old has been fighting against homophobia in sport, working as a speaker and coach. For 17 May, the International Day against Homophobia (based on the former § 175 StGB law, which made homosexuality a punishable offence), Marcus Urban has now initiated the “Sports Free” campaign, an initiative for a joint coming-out, which he hopes will lead to homosexual footballers sending out a message. TSG Hoffenheim are supporting the project and cause both financially and conceptually.

The eight-time Danish international has been part of Union’s goalkeeping team since the summer of 2021 since when he has stood between the posts in 79 competitive matches, keeping 23 clean sheets. The 6′ 2″ tall goalkeeper has made 17 appearances in the Bundesliga, played six matches in the UEFA Champions League and kept goal twice in the DFB Pokal this season alone.

The UEFA European Under-17 Championship begins in Cyprus on Monday, and there will be a host of teams competing to become the best in Europe. It’ll be a great chance for fans and scouts to take a look at some of the most talented young stars in action.

Emre Can: “Leverkusen had more of the play but we led for a long time and wanted to see it over the line. But unfortunately we didn’t manage that. It was good work from us defensively, but more must happen offensively. We can play much better football in that regard. It hurts when you concede a goal so late. We’re involved in all three competitions. We want to give a different account of ourselves compared to last time when we go to Stuttgart in the cup.”