Speaking at the press conference ahead of tomorrow's game, held on Friday afternoon following the presentation of Fernando Carro as the future Bayer 04 CEO, the Werkself coach again referred to the cup exit. "My team gave their all, pushed themselves to the limits and still resisted despite the big deficit. It wasn't enough on the day. Bayern Munich are currently in outstanding form so we don't need to reproach ourselves," said the 46-year-old coach. It's a question of drawing the right conclusions to be able to start next season in a position to compete with the serial champions. "But that's in the future. Now it's about achieving our short-term targets," said Herrlich looking at the desired qualification for the Champions League as he set out the agenda for the season run-in.
Three points against his former club would represent another major step forwards. The Bayer 04 head coach believes that is a realistic ambition: "We played very well at home to Borussia Dortmund until Wendell was sent off but we had to settle for a draw in the end," said Herrlich in recalling the 1-1 draw in December. He believes his players not only "have to produce a top performance" but also refuse to be misled by Dortmund's mixed results of late. "If you follow reports in the media then you might believe Borussia Dortmund are in danger of getting relegated. They are facing enormous criticism because levels of expectation have increased following the recent years of success," declared Herrlich.
Nevertheless, he warned against underestimating BVB. "They have a squad capable of winning the German league. And they've produced some top performances this season. The team definitely has more potential than they've shown recently," referring to the recent sensitive 2-0 defeat for Dortmund in the Revier derby away to Schalke. As a former Dortmund player, Herrlich knows what he's talking about: "After a game like that against Schalke, they are under incredible pressure and will now obviously try to perform to their best at home in front of their own fans. We have to be prepared for that and give absolutely everything."
In spite of this "tricky" situation for his team, Herrlich is looking for a similarly focused performance from the Werkself at Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park as shown against the rivals from Leipzig and Frankfurt: "Of course, Borussia Dortmund will be a little uncertain. So we'll have to play on the front foot from the start and prevent them from settling down – we just have to bring our strengths and quality into the game."
The Werkself coach will be able to welcome back striker Lucas Alario to league action on Saturday after his three-match ban. Herrlich is also confident keeper Bernd Leno should be fit after the knock he picked up in the DFB Cup game against Bayern Munich. In contrast, Lars Bender is ruled out with a one-match ban after picking up a fifth yellow card and Joel Pohjanpalo (rehab after ankle injury) and Wendell (torn ankle ligaments) are both sidelined.
Around 4,300 Werkself fans will be supporting the Black and Reds in Dortmund tomorrow night.
Plenty going on both on and off the pitch: The Bayer 04 fan support team has organised a number of highlights for fans visiting the Werkself 2026/27 summer training camp in Blankenhain, in the Weimarer Land region. Registration for the events is now open. All the details at a glance.
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The Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women’s team and s2-Software are continuing their long-term partnership: The Werkself and the provider of pre-owned Microsoft licences have extended their contract by two years to 2028. This means s2-Software will remain the Bayer 04 sleeve sponsor for all matches in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga.
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BIOGENA is the new performance partner for the Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women’s team. Under a partnership initially set to run for three years, the club and the leading Austrian micronutrient company are pooling their expertise in the areas of health, fitness and top-level performance.
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100 children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy had the chance to gain exclusive insights: As part of the summer camp, the young footballers headed inside the BayArena at midday on Tuesday, 21 July, where they were due to meet Werkself keepers Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch in the press conference room. The two players took plenty of time to answer every question from the inquisitive audience – whether it was about their own careers or their first impressions of the new head coach. Finally, there was even time left to sign autographs for the young fans.
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Following the cancellation of Bayer 04’s scheduled friendly against Carl Zeiss Jena on 1 August, the Werkself have now found a new opponent for the same day and will host Rot-Weiss Essen of the 3. Liga at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. Kick-off is at 11:00 CEST and tickets are available now.
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