Back
4.12.2019Bayer 04

Bailey explains Bayern celebration

There is no question Leon Bailey was the man of the match with his brace in the 2-1 win against Bayern Munich. The Bayer 04 forward thought up a special goal celebration for his second strike as he later explained. News in brief on Wednesday.
crop_20191130_FCBB04_EJ2A6831.jpg

After his left-foot shot into Manuel Neuer's net, the 22-year-old Jamaican turned to the corner flag and held up his fingers in the shape of a W. The reason behind the celebration is the song with the same name, W by Bailey's fellow compatriot and rapper Mikayla 'Koffee' Simpson. The lyric is about forgetting L for losing and instead choosing W for winning. "I very much like the song and the message behind it. That's why I celebrated like that," explained Bailey.

Big day for Kirsten

It's the record goalscorer's birthday. Ulf Kirsten scored 182 goals in 350 games for the Werkself – and that is the club record to date at Bayer 04. The striker played for Leverkusen for 13 years winning the DFB Cup in 1993 and losing the Champions League final against Real Madrid. Kirsten was the top scorer in the Bundesliga in 1992/93 (20 goals), 1996/97 and 1997/98 (22 goals both times). He hung up his boots in 2003 and then coached the Bayer 04 reserves for six years. The 'Schwatte' still plays for the Veterans team. Congratulations, Ulf!

Rolfes and Co. at Facebook

As part of the first DFB leadership trip to the USA, the representatives from the Bundesliga club visited the Facebook HQ in Silicon Valley and the stadium of the San Francisco 49ers. Simon Rolfes, sporting director at Bayer 04: "I welcome the initiative of the DFB. In order to ensure the best possible future for German football, we definitely need to think outside the box." Tomorrow, the delegation – with plenty of new knowledge – will set off back to Germany.

Milestone for Baumi

Last weekend, Julian Baumgartlinger was not only able to celebrate victory against Bayern Munich but also his 200th appearance in Germany's top flight. The Austrian has made 76 appearances for Bayer 04. We say: Congratulations, Baumi!

Recognition for Lars Bender

It was one of the crucial incidents in the Bundesliga stunner for the Werkself at FC Bayern (final score: 2-1). A diagonal ball from Serge Gnabry, just before the half-time whistle, left Ivan Perisic with a tap-in into an empty net – however, the Werkself skipper Lars Bender made a last-ditch sliding tackle and was able to clear the danger. Bayer 04 went into the break with a 2-1 lead and the rest is history. His timely intervention has earned Bender a TOPPS NOW card with the title 'The Goal Saver'.

Congratulations to ZwWdF

With the 400th addition of the football broadcast 'Zeigler's wonderful world of football' (WDR), a range of contemporaries congratulated presenter Arnd Zeigler with a video message. And the well-wishers also included the lads from the Werkself Radio – and there were also two surprise guests: Freddy Radeke and Jakob Leube, the presenters of 'Wumms! The Sports Show,' were also on the pitch at the BayArena. The latter congratulated Zeigler with a send up of Christian Streich.

 

Related News

Vanessa Fudalla, Claudia Wenger und Vanessa Haim
Women - 20.03.2026

‘Start a run’: Women welcome bottom-placed Jena - special edition ‘50 years of fan clubs’ jersey

The Bayer 04 Women welcome FC Carl Zeiss Jena to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday night in a white retro look - and in a unique Bayer 04 ‘50 Years of Fan Clubs’ special edition jersey. In sporting terms, head coach Roberto Pätzold's team will face the Bundesliga's bottom team at 18:30 CET looking to keep their chances of third place in the table alive with six games left to play.

Show more
Caroline Kehrer
Women - 19.03.2026

Bayer 04 Women: Caroline Kehrer and Amy Wrigge sidelined

Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without the two strikers in the immediate future. Caroline Kehrer suffered a torn ligament in her right knee and Amy Wrigge tore her cruciate ligament.

Show more
Finale DFB-ePokal
eSports - 19.03.2026

#B04eSports: Leverkusen hunger for DFB ePokal trophy

The #B04eSports players now have the next chance to win a trophy. After their elimination in the quarter-finals of the VBL Club Championship Final 2025/26, the German club championship, Marc and Sean Landwehr will compete with seven other teams in the finals of the DFB-ePokal 2026 with prize money totalling €65,000. The "highly motivated" Leverkusen team will face the defending champions FOKUS with well-known influencer Elias ‘EliasN97’ Nerlich in the quarter-finals in Frankfurt on Friday, 20 March (from 18:15 CET). The semi-finals and final will be played on Saturday, 21 March.

Show more
Ticket-Infos DFB-Pokal-Halbfinale
DFB-Pokal - 18.03.2026

Tickets for the DFB Pokal semi-final against FC Bayern

Bayer 04 host Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the 2025/26 DFB Pokal. The tie will be played on Wednesday, 22 April 2026, at the BayArena with the kick-off at 20:45 CEST. Information on ticket sales.

Show more
Die Werkself vor der Gästekurve
Champions League - 18.03.2026

Werkself review #ARSB04: ‘Gain important experience from these twelve games’

Hopes were high but disappointment was evident at the end of the second leg of the Round of 16 of UEFA Champions League 2025/26 with the Werkself losing 2-0 to clinical hosts Arsenal after a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Although this marks the end of the journey in the UCL this term the realisation remains that Bayer 04 are "not as far away as it might feel right now", as head coach Kasper Hjulmand said after the game. The Werkself review.

Show more