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.
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 working 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 personal 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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Bayer 04 host top French club Marseille at the BayArena on matchday four in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League group stage. The match kicks off on Thursday 5 November at 21:00 CET. The latest information on ticket sales.
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The BAYER 04 HILFT Day is celebrating an anniversary: for the tenth year running, a large number of employees of the Bundesliga club have been getting involved in a community project in Leverkusen and the surrounding area. Following the refurbishment of the city library last year, this time around some 70 staff members rolled up their sleeves to help out at the Bunker Youth Centre in Leverkusen-Wiesdorf. With the support of the Lebenshilfe workshops in Leverkusen and partner Coca-Cola, a rubber football pitch was laid, a Bayer 04-style lounge was created and other projects were carried out. Werkself players and coaching staff also gave their all.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen and sponsors club partner NRG24 are continuing their partnership, which has been in place since the summer of 2023. The Bundesliga football club and the energy consultancy firm have extended their successful partnership until 30 June 2027.
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