The #Morethanfootball Action Weeks start today, Monday 21 March. The action weeks run up to 14 April and highlight how football clubs can live up to their social responsibility through a wide range of activities. The global project initiated by the European Football for Development Network offers participating clubs and organisations the opportunity to inform their supporters and fans about their own activities in the area of community affairs and social responsibility on and off the pitch and thereby increase awareness of the role of football within society.
The Werkself are taking part in the campaign again as was the case last year. Bayer 04 will again present a wide range of activities over the coming days. That includes in the areas of accessibility, social inclusion, sustainability and climate protection, mental health and much more. The Werkself and the Bayer 04 Women’s team will raise the profile of the action weeks at forthcoming home games.
Kicker usually only marks players in Bundesliga matches who have been on the pitch longer than 30 minutes. But the football journal made an exception in yesterday's 2-0 win for the Werkself at VfL Wolfsburg: Paulinho, who only came on as a substitute on 81 minutes, was awarded top marks for his brace. In addition, the Brazilian was named Man of the Match.
But that's not all: The Werkself forward was named Man of the Matchday. The reasoning from the management at kicker: "Just as many observers […] in Wolfsburg were coming to terms with a goalless draw given the missed chances at either end, his chance came. Paulinho demonstrated how to score goals in just eleven minutes. […] Paulinho’s double whammy – a late lesson in clinical finishing who the kicker awards, against their usual procedures and in spite of the short time on the pitch, the top mark: a 1."
Paulinho was also included in the kicker team of the matchday – as was his Leverkusen teammate Odilon Kossounou. The Ivory Coast international, who played at right back against Wolfsburg, was awarded a mark of 2.5. Both are in the kicker team of the matchday for the first time.
The Rheinische Post and the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger also both awarded the top mark of 1 to Paulinho.
Bayer 04 today remember Hans-Josef Kretschmann (1902-2002). ‘Sepp’ played for SC Charlottenburg and Preußen Duisburg. Kretschmann was the coach of a number of clubs – he was at the helm of the Black and Reds for three years from 1953 to 1956. He took the Werkself to seventh spot in 1953/54 and third in the table the following season. Kretschmann moved on to VfL Wolfsburg after relegation from the Oberliga West a year later.
Standing on the pitch where the Werkself players perform - for many Bayer 04 club members, this wish became reality at this year's Members' kickabout. Around 400 active participants of all ages took the opportunity to experience the BayArena from a new and special perspective. And there was also plenty going on in the stands: The event attracted more than 1,000 visitors in total and provided an atmospheric end to the season.
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Lying third in the Bundesliga, the Werkself made a faltering start in 2026 after the winter break, but gradually rediscovered winning ways and, as in the previous campaign, were among the top 16 in Europe and the top four in the DFB Pokal. In the Bundesliga, the Werkself also remained in the race for Champions League qualification right to the end. However, because setbacks repeatedly crept into the Werkself's performances between good displays and crucial games, it was not quite enough to secure a UCL spot in the end. A season with many ups and downs brought sixth place and qualification for the UEFA Europa League. Part II of the review of the 2025/26 season.
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Rogier Meijer is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen and returning to his native Netherlands: The 44-year-old will take over at Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam on 1 July. Meijer has been part of the Werkself coaching set-up since the start of the 2025/26 season - first as assistant coach to Erik ten Hag, then on Kasper Hjulmand's staff.
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Following the final match of the 2025/26 season, the prevailing feeling was naturally one of disappointment after missing out on qualification for the Champions League. The Werkself finished the Bundesliga in sixth place, meaning they'll start the 2026/27 campaign in the Europa League. "But to talk negatively about everything now because of that would be wrong," stressed captain Robert Andrich following the final game, knowing that the past year at Bayer 04 was marked, more than almost any other, by the start of a new era and the courage to change – and in particular, the belief in a positive direction. Everyone was aware this process would need time. The first part of the 2025/26 season review.
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