Six Werkself players have made it into the seven positions in the rankings:
With the goalkeepers, Lukas Hradecky is in eighth position ('In contention'). After the operation on his jaw at the beginning of the pre-season, the 29-year-old Finland goalkeeper was sidelined for the first matches but then, according to kicker, he was "brilliantly consistent from matchday five and he made people in Leverkusen forget about his predecessor Bernd Leno."
No Werkself player made it into the top spots for the central defender positions with only Sven Bender allocated to the 'Potential' category by the kicker editors due to his "impressive performances" in his 17 appearances in all competitions in the first half of the season. Jonathan Tah, did not appear at all in this category after being included in the 'International class' in the summer and despite having the fourth most time on the pitch in the first half of the season (1,679; 19 games) behind Kai Havertz (1,943; 23), Wendell (1,813; 23) and Hradecky (1,800; 20). The professional journal tributes "too many careless mistakes" to the 22-year-old Germany international.
The Werkself captain Lars Bender finished the first half of the season in fourth place In the defensive midfield category ('In contention'). The explanation from kicker reads: "The Leverkusen player was in the international class in the summer rankings as a full back. He has played in this position in the first half of this campaign but more often in the number six role. Was a stabilising factor in an inconsistent Bayer team." In contrast, Charles Aránguiz – number one in the summer rankings – missed out because the journal's assessment of his nine appearances (seven in the Bundesliga, two in the Europa League) after being sidelined through injury was that he was "no longer as dominant."
Shooting star Kai Havertz was ranked second behind Marco Reus ('International class'). The Werkself number 29 "has reached a new level compared with last season." For Bayer 04, he is not just a regular first choice but now a key player according to the kicker with the addition:"Six goals and three assists in the Bundesliga and three goals and three assists in Europe demonstrate an improvement in terms of goal threat. The highly talented player can (almost) turn the game round on his own as in the 3-2 win in the opening game in the Europa League group stage away to Ludogorets. It's incredible how far Havertz has come for his age and the amount of vision and calm he possesses.“
While Kevin Volland - as in the summer - is once again included in the 'Potential' category for strikers despite his seven goals and six assists, the kicker assessment of Karim Bellarabi is more encouraging: "Great performances, impressive in all three competitions, defensive work has clearly improved." The 28-year-old German/Moroccan has hit back with eight goals and three assists "after collapsing in the pre-season, being sidelined with a cruciate injury and also suspended because of his bad foul in Munich," and he was named the third best player amongst wingers in the 'In contention' ranking– behind Gladbach's Thorgan Hazard and Dortmund's Jadon Sancho who both are named as 'International class'.
The Werkself conceded a goal at home for the first time since the beginning of January 67 minutes into the game against FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday. Jarell Quansah levelled late on for the final score of 1-1 to secure a point and avoid a first home defeat in six games. Bayer 04 were very critical of their performance after the game. The Werkself review.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From special edition jerseys to fan banners, the home game against Mainz 05 was all about the many Bayer 04 fan clubs. Accordingly, a fitting tribute to the long-standing Werkself supporters was not to be missed during half-time in the Bundesliga match. Fernando Carro, CEO, honoured the up to 50-year anniversaries of six fan clubs in front of the coaches' benches at the BayArena.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-1 draw against Mainz 05 on Matchday 24 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
A late goal secured a point for Bayer 04 at home to FSV Mainz 05 in a match that saw the Black and Reds dominant in the second half. Despite lots of possession, the Werkself initially found few gaps and fell behind after 67 minutes when Sheraldo Becker scored in a Mainz counter-attack. In the closing stages, Leverkusen threw everything forward once again and equalised through Jarell Quansah (88').
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