Bender Happy to Stay at Leverkusen | Thursday 2 August, 2012
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By Daniel Clark

After six years of tertiary education and numerous part-time positions within sport and recreation, Daniel secured an ideal full time role within local government in November 2010.

Away from work, Daniel has 18 years of cricket experience under his belt and has coached and served on committees at numerous clubs. He also plays baseball in winter and is again a member of the club committee.

Sport and recreation is an obvious interest for Daniel and his articles reflect that, especially his knowledge of cricket and football.

The owner, manager and editor in chief of Pen & Paper Sports, Daniel hopes to see the site grow from strength to strength in the future.

Bayer Leverkusen midfielder, Lars Bender, has committed his future to the club, despite speculation linking him with a move away from the BayArena.

"The club have made it very clear to me that I am a key member of the team, and that they will not sell me," Bender said, despite reported interest from Bayern Munich, amongst others.

Bayer Leverkusen finished last season in fifth place in the Bundesliga and qualified for Europa league football in 2012-13.

This is in contrast to Bayern Munich, who finished second in the Bundesliga, and famously reached the Champions League final, only to be defeated by Chelsea.

Die Roten are already the favourites to win the league title in 2013, according to the online betting on Bet365.

Despite the possibility of playing Champions League football next year, Bender is showing refreshing loyalty to the club he joined in 2009.

"I recently extended my contract, and now I want to take the next step with the club. I will not engage in further speculation,” he said.

Rather than being a catalyst to look for a new club, it seems that Leverkusen’s failure to secure Champions League football is driving Bender, and he is confident that they can bounce back.

"Our goal is clearly to get back into the Champions League," he added. "If everything goes well, then we absolutely have a chance," he said.

Bender signed for Leverkusen from 1860 Munich in 2009, and he has scored nine goals in 96 games since.

During this time, Bender has also established himself as a member of the German national team, and has made nine appearances, since his debut in September 2011.

Leverkusen travel to Eintracht Frankfurt for their opening fixture of the new Bundesliga season, on 24th August, and, now that their star man has committed to the club, Sami Hypia’s men could be a good bet to push for honours in 2012-13, and secure Champions League football for 2013-14.

Thinking of betting on European competitions? Visit the relevant page on Bet365 for the latest odds on German, Spanish, and French football.

Alex Chang
 



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