A few days after the announcement by the German Football League (DFL) that the Werkself have the best pitch in the Bundesliga, the Germany national team have the chance to see that for themselves tonight. Because of the international fixture, the BayArena has had a makeover inside and out over recent days: The stands, dugouts and interior are now black-and-white instead of the familiar Bayer 04 red. "The DFB have transformed everything," explained Stephan Rehm, events director at the Werkself. As is usual with international matches, the capacity at the BayArena will be 29,412 (all seated).
Germany have won six and drawn once in the seven internationals to date at Leverkusen. The German national team have beaten Saudi Arabia twice – the last win was in 2002 when the team then managed by the current Bayer 04 sporting director Rudi Völler secured an 8-0 victory in a warm-up game for the World Cup finals of that year.
The Leverkusen transport company Wupsi are laying on numerous shuttle buses and additional services for the journey to the BayArena.
The Werkself conceded a goal at home for the first time since the beginning of January 67 minutes into the game against FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday. Jarell Quansah levelled late on for the final score of 1-1 to secure a point and avoid a first home defeat in six games. Bayer 04 were very critical of their performance after the game. The Werkself review.
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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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From special edition jerseys to fan banners, the home game against Mainz 05 was all about the many Bayer 04 fan clubs. Accordingly, a fitting tribute to the long-standing Werkself supporters was not to be missed during half-time in the Bundesliga match. Fernando Carro, CEO, honoured the up to 50-year anniversaries of six fan clubs in front of the coaches' benches at the BayArena.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-1 draw against Mainz 05 on Matchday 24 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
A late goal secured a point for Bayer 04 at home to FSV Mainz 05 in a match that saw the Black and Reds dominant in the second half. Despite lots of possession, the Werkself initially found few gaps and fell behind after 67 minutes when Sheraldo Becker scored in a Mainz counter-attack. In the closing stages, Leverkusen threw everything forward once again and equalised through Jarell Quansah (88').
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