Ahead of the kick-off against SC Paderborn, Rudi and Kies were presented with honorary captain pennants by Fernando Carro, chairman of the board, and sporting managing director Rudi Völler. There are four selection criteria: At least 10 years with the Werkself, at least 300 competitive matches, including over 100 games as captain or deputy plus an outstanding personality.
Both goalkeeper Rüdiger Vollborn and striker Stefan Kießling have left a lasting impression on the history of Bayer 04. Vollborn, the Werkself player with the most appearances in the Bundesliga (401), was in goal for the UEFA Cup win in 1988 as well as for the DFB Cup victory in 1993. The massive extent to which Stefan Kießling is valued by the fans was evident by the emotional moments in May 2018 at the end of his career when the whole stadium honoured him in the home game against Hannover and deservedly celebrated him with a moving choreography.
Welcome to the illustrious club of honorary captains, Rudi and Kies!
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-0 win against FC Carl Zeiss Jena on the 21th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 will have to make do without forward Martin Terrier in the next few weeks. The Frenchman sustained a muscle injury in his right hamstring in Saturday's 3-3 draw at Heidenheim in the Bundesliga.
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Three goals weren’t enough for the Werkself to beat FC Heidenheim on Saturday. The 3-3 stalemate was Bayer 04’s third Bundesliga draw in a row. After a commanding first half and a two-goal lead, “we didn’t get back into our game,” summarised Mark Flekken, who featured between the sticks for the first time in two months. Patrik Schick once again proved his nose for goal, bagging a brace. He is now the third-most prolific Bundesliga scorer in the club’s history. Despite the squandered points, head coach Kasper Hjulmand remains confident ahead of the final spurt of the season: “We’re ready to overcome this situation.” The Werkself review.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 3-3 draw at FC Heidenheim on Matchday 27 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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Bayer 04 were held to a 3-3 draw away at Heidenheim despite twice taking the lead on Bundesliga Matchday 27. Malik Tillman and Patrik Schick had given the Werkself a 2-0 advantage in the first half, but Hennes Behrens and a Marvin Pieringer penalty brought the hosts level after the restart. Schick restored the lead not long after. However, Pieringer also struck again in the closing minutes to restrict Leverkusen to just a point away at the Bundesliga’s bottom side.
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