First to the most recent success. The team under head coach Gerardo Seoane secured third spot with one game to play in his first season in charge at Leverkusen. The Werkself will return to the group stages of the Champions League in 2022/23 despite long-term injuries to Patrik Schick, Florian Wirtz, Amine Adli, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Jeremie Frimpong over the course of this season.
Bundesliga 2021/22 (Position: matchday 33)
Finish: Third (qualification for UCL group stage)
Points: 61
Goal difference: 78-46
Top goalscorer: Patrik Schick (24)
Player with most appearances: Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah (32 each)
Coach: Gerardo Seoane
Matchday UCL qualification was sealed: Matchday 33 – with a 4-2 win at TSG Hoffenheim
Other UCL qualifiers (After 33 games): Bayern Munich (76 points, first place), Borussia Dortmund (66 points/second place) and RB Leipzig (57 points/fourth place)
Here is an overview of the stats and facts on the twelve of the Bundesliga season where Bayer 04 qualified for the UEFA Champions League:
Bundesliga 2018/19
Finish: Fourth (qualification for UCL group stage)
Points: 58
Goal difference: 69-52
Top goalscorer: Kai Havertz (17)
Player with most appearances: Kevin Volland and Kai Havertz (34 each)
Coach: Heiko Herrlich (up to 23 December 2018) and Peter Bosz (from 4 January 2019)
Matchday UCL qualification was sealed: Matchday 34 with a 5-1 win at Hertha Berlin
Other UCL qualifiers: Bayern Munich (First/78 points), Borussia Dortmund (second/76 points) and RB Leipzig (third/66 points)
Bundesliga 2015/16
Finish: Third (qualification for UCL group stage)
Points: 60
Goal difference: 56-40
Top goalscorer: Chicharito (17)
Player with most appearances: Bernd Leno and Karim Bellarabi (33 each)
Coach: Roger Schmidt
Matchday UCL qualification was sealed: Matchday 32 with a 2-1 win against Hertha Berlin
Other UCL qualifiers: Bayern Munich (First/88 points), Borussia Dortmund (second/78 points) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (fourth/55 points)
Bundesliga 2014/15
Finish: Fourth (participation in UCL qualifiers)
Points: 61
Goal difference: 62-37
Top goalscorer: Karim Bellarabi (12)
Player with the most appearances: Bernd Leno and Stefan Kießling (34 each)
Coach: Roger Schmidt
Matchday UCL qualification was sealed: Matchday 30 with 1-1 draw at FC Köln
Other UCL qualifiers: Bayern Munich (first/79 points), VfL Wolfsburg (second/69 points) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (third/66 points)
Bundesliga 2013/14
Finish: Fourth (participation in UCL qualifiers)
Points: 61
Goal difference: 60-41
Top goalscorer: Stefan Kießling (15)
Player with the most appearances: Bernd Leno (34)
Coach: Sami Hyypiä (up to 5 April 2014) and Sascha Lewandowski (5 April 2014 to 30 April 2014)
Matchday UCL qualification was sealed: Matchday 34 with a 2-1 win against Werder Bremen
Other UCL qualifiers: Bayern Munich (first/90 points), Borussia Dortmund (second/71 points) and Schalke 04 (third/64 points)
Bundesliga 2012/13
Finish: Third (qualification for UCL group stage)
Points: 65
Goal difference: 65-39
Top goalscorer: Stefan Kießling (25 Tore)
Player with the most appearances: Stefan Kießling and André Schürrle (34 each)
Coach: Sami Hyypiä/Sascha Lewandowski
Matchday UCL qualification was sealed: Matchday 31 with a 1-0 win against Werder Bremen
Other UCL qualifiers: Bayern Munich (first/91 points), Borussia Dortmund (second/66 points) and Schalke 04 (fourth/55 points)
Bundesliga 2010/11
Finish: Second (qualification for UCL group stage)
Points: 68
Goal difference: 64-44
Top goalscorer: Arturo Vidal (10)
Player with the most appearances: Arturo Vidal (33)
Coach: Jupp Heynckes
Matchday UCL qualification was sealed: Matchday 32 with the 2-0 defeat at FC Köln
Other UCL qualifiers: Borussia Dortmund (first/75 points) and Bayern Munich (third /65 points)
Bundesliga 2003/04
Finish: Third (participation in UCL qualifiers)
Points: 65
Goal difference: 73-39
Top goalscorer: Dimitar Berbatov (16)
Player with the most appearances: Hans Jörg Butt (34)
Coach: Klaus Augenthaler
Matchday UCL qualification was sealed: Matchday 34 with a 2-0 win at VfB Stuttgart
Other UCL qualifiers: Werder Bremen (first/74 points) and Bayern Munich (second/68 points)
Bundesliga 2001/02
Finish: Second (qualification for UCL group stage)
Points: 69
Goal difference: 77-38
Top goalscorer: Michael Ballack (17)
Player with the most appearances: Hans Jörg Butt (34)
Coach: Klaus Toppmöller
Matchday UCL qualification was sealed: Matchday 33 with a 1-0 defeat at FC Nürnberg
Other UCL qualifiers: Borussia Dortmund (first/70 points) and Bayern Munich (third/68 points)
Bundesliga 2000/01
Finish: Fourth (participation in UCL qualifiers)
Points: 57
Goal difference: 54-40
Top goalscorer: Oliver Neuville (15)
Player with the most appearances: Oliver Neuville (34 )
Trainer: Christoph Daum (to 21 October 2000), Rudi Völler (21 October 2000 to 11 November 2000) and Berti Vogts (12 November 2000 to 20 May 2001)
Matchday UCL qualification was sealed: Matchday 34 with a 1-0 win against VfL Bochum
Other UCL qualifiers: Bayern Munich (first/63 points), Schalke 04 (second/62 points) and Borussia Dortmund (third/58 points)
Bundesliga 1999/00
Finish: Second (qualification for UCL group stage)
Points: 73
Goal difference: 74-36
Top goalscorer: Ulf Kirsten (17)
Player with the most appearances: Jens Nowotny and Oliver Neuville (33 each)
Coach: Christoph Daum
Matchday UCL qualification was sealed: Matchday 29 with a 1-1 draw at Hansa Rostock
Other UCL qualifiers: Bayern Munich (first/73 points), Hamburg SV (third/59 points) and 1860 Munich (fourth/53 points)
Bundesliga 1998/99
Finish: Second (qualification the UCL group stage)
Points: 63
Goal difference: 61-30
Top goalscorer: Ulf Kirsten (19)
Player with the most appearances: Adam Matysek (34)
Coach: Christoph Daum
Matchday UCL qualification was sealed: Matchday 31 with a 2-0 win against VfL Bochum
Other UCL qualifiers: Bayern Munich (first/78 points), Hertha Berlin (third/62 points) and Borussia Dortmund (fourth/57 points)
Bundesliga 1996/97
Finish: Second (Qualification for die UCL group stage)
Points: 69
Goal difference: 69-41
Top goalscorer: Ulf Kirsten (22)
Player with the most appearances: Markus Happe (34)
Coach: Christoph Daum
Matchday UCL qualification was sealed: Matchday 32 with a 3-0 home win against FC St. Pauli
Other UCL qualifiers: Bayern Munich (first/71 points) and Borussia Dortmund (third/63 points)
“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
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It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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