The Black and Reds got off to a flying start in the Bundesliga campaign under head coach Reinhard Saftig. After 12 games, the Werkself were in second spot two points behind league leaders Bayern Munich. A dip in form followed with the first half of the season ending with Bayer 04 in sixth place. During the winter break, the then Bayer 04 general manager Reiner Calmund decided to bring in Dragoslav Stepanovic from Frankfurt as the new coach for the following season.
In the second half of the Bundesliga campaign, the Werkself picked up seven out of a possible 12 points (under the two points for a win rule) before facing Eintracht Frankfurt in the previously mentioned cup semi-final on 30 March. While the Hertha Berlin Amateurs surprisingly beat second division Chemnitz FC in the other semi-final, Bayer 04 and Eintracht Frankfurt were both in the top-flight. The team under head coach Saftig secured a convincing 3-0 victory over Eintracht who were then third in the table. The legendary front two of Ulf Kirsten and Andreas Thom (2) scored all three goals, to take the Werkself through to the final at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
Immediately after the game, the Eintracht coach Dragoslav Stepanovic resigned and was initially an adviser for his future employers Bayer 04. Five weeks later, general manager Calmund gave head coach Saftig his marching orders; Stepanovic took over the helm and the Werkself beat the Hertha Berlin Amateurs 1-0 – Kirsten scored the goal on 77 minutes – to lift the DFB Cup for the first time in the club's history.
Match stats from DFB Cup semi-final 1993:
Eintracht Frankfurt: Stein – Bindewald, Binz, Tskhadadze – Weber, Komljenovic (Studer 74'), Bein, Falkenmayer (Yeboah 72'), Bommer – Schmitt, Kruse
Bayer 04: Vollborn – Kree, Foda, Wörns – Stöver, Lupescu, Hapal, Fischer, von Ahlen (Scholz 67') – Thom, Kirsten (Tolkmitt 80')
Goals: 0-1 Thom (6’), 0-2 Kirsten (72’), 0-3 Thom (75’)
Referee: Manfred Harder
Booked: Tskhadadze, Schmitt – von Ahlen, Kirsten
Sent off: Bindewald (55.)
Attendance: 35,000 at Frankfurt's Waldstadion
A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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European football returns to the BayArena: Bayer 04 host Slovenian champions NK Celje on matchday 1 in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Ahead of the match on Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez and midfielder Aleix Garcia spoke at the pre-match press conference. The focus was primarily on the great anticipation surrounding the competition and the clear objectives for it – and, given the circumstances, on a last-minute change to the opposition line-up.
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