It looked like a lost cause after the 3-0 defeat in the first leg in Barcelona. And yet, hope and promise lay in the Leverkusen air on the evening of 18 May 1988. The crowd were waving flags with 18,000 Bayer 04 fans amongst the 22,000 at the Haberland Stadium, that was being redeveloped, singing loud in hope of creating a sensation. The West Stand was a skeleton with a couple of hundred temporary seats installed at short notice to cater for the club staff and journalists. What followed was a performance by the Werkself that has not lost any of its drama and emotion after 32 years. Bayer 04 TV brought highlights of the second leg of the 1988 UEFA Cup final...
30 years later there was a big anniversary celebration at the 1904 Lounge at the BayArena: The UEFA Cup heroes of 1988 were clearly full of joy at that reunion.
Match information:
Bayer 04: Vollborn – Rolff – Seckler, A. Reinhardt – Schreier (Waas 46’), Cha, Buncol, Falkenmayer, K. Reinhardt – Götz, Tita (Täuber 62’)
Espanyol: N'Kono – Miguel Angel – Job, Gallard, Urkiaga – Orejuela (Zubillaga 67’), Inaki, Golobart (Zuniga 73’), Soler – Alonso, Losada
Goals: 1-0 Tita (58’), 2-0 Götz (63’), 3-0 Cha (81’)
Penalty shootout: Rolff, Waas and Täuber scored for Bayer 04, Alonso and Job for Espanyol
Referee: Keizer (Netherlands)
Booked: A. Reinhardt, K. Reinhardt – Miguel Angel, Zubillaga
Attendance: 22,000 (sold out)
In Germany, the temperatures are currently around zero, leaving even professional footballers freezing - but not the Bayer 04 Women. Roberto Pätzold's team have fled the cold to the south and are preparing for the second half of the season at a training camp in the Algarve, almost 2,000 kilometres away from home as the crow flies. The Leverkusen squad landed in Faro on Saturday morning and have already completed the first three training sessions over the weekend.
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It was a disappointing Saturday night. The Werkself lost 4-1 to VfB Stuttgart to start the new year on Bundesliga matchday 16 in 2025/26, a result that left both players and fans disappointed. "We played without any passion," said Alejandro Grimaldo honestly afterwards. Teammate Jarell Quansah was even more self-critical, emphasising: "We were miles off it in the first half. You can't put in a performance like that, especially in front of our own fans and I can only apologise to them, to be honest." Read on for the reaction, facts and stats from the clash with VfB Stuttgart in the Werkself review.
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Women’s team forward Paulina Bartz is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen to play for Hamburg SV until the end of the season. The 20-year-old, whose contract runs to 2027, joins the Bundesliga newcomers on loan until the summer.
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Jarell Quansah and Alejandro Grimaldo speak to Werkself-TV following Bayer 04's 4-1 defeat to VfB Stuttgart on Bundesliga Matchday 16...
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