The ZDF show has been running since 1963 and always ends with a goal wall challenge. "Three at the bottom, three at the top" will be heard again late on Saturday evenings when the ZDF presenter Jochen Breyer asks the former top striker to take on a challenger. Before that, Breyer and Rudi Völler will discuss the results of the Saturday matches, talk about the run-in and look forward to the forthcoming Bundesliga match against Eintracht Frankfurt on Monday 2 May. Remaining tickets for the game are available from the Bayer 04 ticket shop.
The 62-year-old showed what's needed for shots from seven yards in March 1985. Back then a player with Werder Bremen, his five strikes put him right at the top of the list. A record that Völler now shares with just eight of the goal wall marksmen. One of those to clock up five with a Bayer 04 past is Reinhard Saftig who was the coach at Leverkusen from July 1991 to May 1993. He achieved that masterpiece in October 1991 and is the only goal wall marksman with the Werkself at the time up to now.
In addition to Völler and Saftig, a large number of other Leverkusen players and managers have sat at the interview table on the 'aktuelles sportstudio' programme. Erich Ribbeck, who coached the Werkself to win the UEFA Cup in 1988, faced questions from the presenters in around 30 broadcasts. A couple fewer visits were made by Christoph Daum who was in the Bayer 04 dugout for 185 games between 1996 and 2000.
The most recent guest from the Werkself on 20 November 2021 was midfield maestro Robert Andrich. The 27-year-old midfielder made his way to Mainz after the 1-0 home win against VfL Bochum on matchday 12. The Bayer 04 number eight sank one of six attempts in the goal wall challenge.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended midfielder Noah Mbamba’s contract by twelve months and sent the Belgian U21 international on loan to France. At FC Lorient, the 21-year-old – whose contract at Leverkusen now runs to 30 June 2029 – is set to gain playing time in Ligue 1 and, through strong performances and further development, put himself in the running for a future place in the Werkself squad.
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Spurred on by a flawless hat-trick from Cornelia Kramer, the Bayer 04 women’s team won their penultimate pre-season friendly in commanding fashion. As part of the season launch, the Werkself beat Dutch top-flight side Feyenoord 7–0. In front of 3,000 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, Kramer (6’, 25’, 45’), Sofie Zdebel (47’), Maja Sternad (59'), Natasha Kowalski (83') and Vanessa Fudalla (86') scored the goals for coach Roberto Pätzold’s side.
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The Shareholders’ Committee of Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH has extended the contracts of the two managing directors, Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes, ahead of schedule. The CEO, Fernando Carro (62), will continue in his role until 30 June 2029, and managing director sport Simon Rolfes (44) will remain in post until 30 June 2031.
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There’s plenty for Bayer 04 fans to enjoy both on and off the pitch at the official 2026 season launch. In addition to the women’s team taking on Feyenoord at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium at 13:15 CEST and the men’s team facing Sevilla at the BayArena at 15:30 CEST, fans of all ages can enjoy a range of activities – and get to meet Bayer 04 players and former players in the process. The Fanwelt is also offering a special promotion: buy a new shirt and get free printing! Here’s an overview of everything you need to know about the season launch, including the live streams.
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