It got loud at the BayArena 20 minutes into the Bundesliga home opener for the Werkself against RB Leipzig. Midfielder Kerem Demirbay plucked up courage, unleashed a shot from 25 yards out and put the ball in the back of the RB net with the help of the underside of the bar. A goal from that distance and that angle, with four players in the way the shot? According to the xGoals statistic, which calculates the probability of a goal based on eight criteria, almost impossible! With a probability of only 2.23%, Demirbay's goal was the most difficult to score on matchday two. Hats off...
For the interview of the month with the German Football League (DFL), number one keeper Lukas Hradecky swapped the football for billiard balls. In the VIP entrance to the West Stand, the Finn played Patrick Owomoyela at the pool table. Who put the number eight in the right hole will be revealed in October at bundesliga.de.
Two Brazilians, two Argentinians, one Chilean and most recently one Colombian – the current Werkself squad as a number of South Americans. Since Tita arrived in Leverkusen in 1987, Bayer 04 attracted keen audience from the other side of the equator. For the Werkself fans in the football mad continent, there is now good news: Charles Aránguiz and Co. will soon be live on TV. The Berlin media company OneFootball have acquired the live rights to the Bundesliga for nine Spanish-speaking countries in South America, including Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. The contract is for the 2020/21 season. A similar partnership was agreed with Brazil two weeks ago.
The Day of German Unity on 3 October is a special public holiday in 2020: On the 30th anniversary of reunification there will be a wide range of events across Germany. And Bayer 04 is dedicating a theme week to this turning point in German-German history. A multi-media series on bayer04.de makes it clear: The fall of the Berlin Wall was a lucky break for the Werkself.
Part 1: Opening contribution ‘30 years of reunification: A lucky break for Bayer 04’
Part 2: A final time for the GDR – ‘Scholles’ game for the history books
Part 3: Interview with Reiner Calmund: ‘I had tears in my eyes'
The signing of the former GDR internationals Andreas Thom and Ulf Kirsten definitely count as big success stories. Bayer 04 with general manager Reiner Calmund brought the two attacking players to Leverkusen shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It should have been a trio with Matthias Sammer. "Everything was clear to me that the contract was already signed," explain the now 53-year-old in a recent interview with Bild. "There were then headlines like 'Bayer are buying up the East'. I have to admit it had an effect on me." So he asked Calmund to withdraw the contract. The Leverkusen main man agreed – and Sammer ended up at VfB Stuttgart instead of the Werkself.
The Bayer 04 women’s team secured a win in the friendly during the international break. Without a total of eight international players, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team defeated Bundesliga 2 side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 at the Kurtekotten Training Centre, thanks to goals from Lobke Loonen (1’, penalty), Caroline Kehrer (41') and Valentina Mädl (66').
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FSV Mainz 05 went into the international break on the back of an away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Currently sixth in the table, the Rheinhessen side – who have been impressive on the road – now aim to continue their good start to the Bundesliga campaign at home when they face the Werkself on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). In terms of squad selection, Urs Fischer once again has more options at his disposal. Up front, the Mainz coach is likely to continue relying on what is currently the league’s most successful strike partnership. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
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During the first international break of the 2026/27 season, set to last just under three weeks, nine Bayer 04 first-team players are in action with their respective national teams. Read on for updates on matches featuring Werkself players…
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