The news on Tuesday has affected the world of football in Germany: The German Football Association (DFB) announced the decision of Germany coach Joachim ‘Jogi’ Löw, to step down in the summer after the European Championships. The 61-year-old asked for his contract to 2022 to be terminated early following the tournament.
“I take this step very consciously, full of pride and enormous gratitude, but at the same time I continue to be fully motivated when it comes to the European Championship tournament,” said Löw. Born in the Black Forest, he became Germany assistant coach in 2004 and then took over from Jürgen Klinsmann as the national coach after the 2006 World Cup. In 2014, he led Germany to their fourth World Cup title in Brazil. In addition, he reached the semi-finals of the Euros three times and the the final in 2008. Löw is currently the longest-serving national coach in the world.
Like many other greats of German football, Rudi Völler, 1990 World Cup winner, responded to the national coach stepping down. The Bayer 04 sporting managing director: “Jogi Löw’s decision deserves respect. His teams produced great football at a lot of different tournaments and and he made a great contribution to German sport by winning the 2014 World Cup. Now Jogi has the chance to be relaxed going into the Euros in the summer and celebrate a wonderful farewell. We’ve all got our fingers crossed for him.”
The Werkself have eight days to recover after the 1-0 win at Mönchengladbach and then prepare intensively for the forthcoming Bundesliga home game against Arminia Bielefeld on Sunday, 14 February (kick-off: 13.30 CET). The team from Eastern Westphalia have a rearranged game on Wednesday, 10 March. At 18.30 CET the team under new head coach Frank Kramer (formerly at Fürth and Düsseldorf) entertain Werder Bremen. The original fixture at the start of February fell victim to the heavy winter weather in central Germany.
After 15 years of economic growth, German professional football suffered a downturn for the first time, as expected, in the 2019/20 season. The reason for this development are the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in the final quarter of the season. The turnover of the 36 professional clubs sank by 300 million euros compared with the previous season. This information comes from the latest economic report from the German Football League DFL.
In 2018/19, the first and divisions clubs set the record to date with 4.8 billion euros. An even bigger decline is expected this season. Above all, the missing gate money is a key factor. HERE is the link to the DFL announcement.
From the youth teams to the professional players: Richard Job was a genuine ‘Leverkusen lad’. On this Tuesday, the Bayer 04 legend ‘King Richard’ would have been 100 years old. In commemoration, we recall a special career with a cross on the chest. HERE is the link to the article.
Other former Werkself players celebrate their birthdays on 9 March. Pirmin Schwegler is the youngest of the quartet. The Swiss defensive allrounder played for Leverkusen from 2005 to 2009. After ending his playing career last summer, Schwegler became a scout at Bayern Munich a few months ago – and today he is 34 years old.
Auch der neuerdings 52-jährige Martin Frydek (1997/98) sowie der gebürtige Leverkusener Ioannis Masmanidis feiern ihren Geburtstag. Der Deutsch-Grieche durchlief die Nachwuchsabteilung von Bayer 04 und wechselte 2004 aus der zweiten Mannschaft zum Karlsruher SC. Masmanidis ist seit heute 38 Jahre alt. Herzlichen Glückwunsch an das Trio!
Hans „Opa“ Benzler, Leverkusener Regionalliga-Torhüter der späten 1960er Jahre, wäre am Dienstag 85 geworden. Er verstarb im Herbst 2017. Bayer 04 erinnert an den Meister-Keeper von 1968.
Kicking off the new season with a fresh look: Bayer 04, in collaboration with sportswear manufacturer New Balance, has unveiled the official kit for Leverkusen’s e-Sports players for the coming season. The jersey is now available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.
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Paulo Sergio and Bayer 04 have enjoyed close ties since the Werkself training camp in his native Brazil last summer. The club legend is in charge of the Bayer 04 Soccer Academy, which opened in the summer of 2025, and he has also been at this year’s training camp in the Weimarer Land. As well as interacting with the many fans who travelled to the camp, the 1994 World Cup winner used the time to plan the next steps for the Academy together with club officials. In an interview with bayer04.de, Sergio spoke about the project’s future development, the upcoming visit by young Academy players to Leverkusen, and plans for the coming months in Germany and Brazil.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day five (Thursday 6 August) is as follows: The squad have the final open session of the training camp in the morning. After lunch, there will be a team event.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day four (Wednesday 5 August) is all about training. The day begins with a gruelling open training session – new signing Miguel Gutiérrez also takes part. A second session follows in the afternoon, this time behind closed doors.
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At the training camp in the Weimarer Land region, Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez and his long-standing assistant Pol García talk about their first few weeks with the Werkself, their expectations of their own work, the coaching staff and the squad, as well as the style of football they want the team to play. They emphasise the importance of a winning mentality within the team, comment on cultural and personal differences in the world of football, and outline their goals for the coming season...
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