Due to organisational reasons, the first friendly against third division SV Wehen Wiesbaden on Wednesday, 14 July will be played behind closed doors at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre. Anybody wanting to watch the first Werkself match of the summer live from 18.00 CEST, can watch the game on the Bayer 04 YouTube channel or on Sport1.
Following the training camp (16-23 July), the team led by new head coach Gerardo Seoane will play another two matches in Leverkusen. Both the game against the Dutch top-flight side FC Utrecht (28 July, 16.00 CEST) and the meeting with the Spanish La Liga club Celta Vigo (31 July, 16.00 CEST) will be played at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium.
If the coronavirus pandemic situation remains stable in Leverkusen then it is possible that fans may return for the two friendlies. Spectators will have to be vaccinated, recuperated or have a negative test. In addition, no away fans are allowed to attend either game. Bayer 04 will publish further information on any access procedures immediately before the two matches.
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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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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