The decline in fortune was turned round in record time. Hannover 96 ended the 2015/16 season bottom of the Bundesliga that meant relegation to the second division after 14 seasons in the top flight. Following immediate promotion, the Reds are back to where they spent most of the past 14 years – mid-table in the Bundesliga. After six wins and six defeats, Hannover are tenth in the league. A position that people in the Lower Saxony state capital can be very happy with – above all favoured by an impressive record in the second 45 minutes of games this term. Hannover have netted 16 of their 20 goals this season in the second half and that represents the best return of any of the teams in the league after the restart.
Not only are Hannover 96 back but so is André Breitenreiter – and that in two senses. In May 2016, when Hanover were relegated from the Bundesliga, Breitenreiter was forced to bow out as coach at Schalke 04 in spite of finishing fifth in the Bundesliga. In March of this year, the head coach returned to the club of his youth Hannover 96 where he led the team back to Germany's top flight with a run of 16 games without defeat after he took over the helm. Breitenreiter often varies his line-up according to the opponents and match situation, and has his team capable of playing different systems – of course, not without indispensable mainstays such as key player Salif Sané (pictured above) in central defence and the striking duo of Martin Harnik and Niklas Füllkrug, who have scored 10 of the 20 goals this season. A good return that is also badly needed as the Brazilian Jonathas, brought in as a new goal-getter in the summer, has been sidelined for weeks and is only expected to be an option for Breitenreiter in the second half of the season. For one of the other key players in the Hannover line-up, Sunday's game represents an encounter with the past: Playmaker Pirmin Schwegler made his Bundesliga debut in a Bayer 04 shirt and went on to make 60 appearances for Leverkusen between 2006 and 2009. The Swiss midfielder joined Hannover 96 in the summer and is available for the match against the Werkself after serving a one-match ban.
Schwegler often has to act on his own as the distributor in midfield as the regular captain Edgar Prib has missed most of the season with a torn cruciate. This is not the only position where Breitenreiter is lacking alternatives when established players are sidelined. Both in central defence and in attack it is currently scarcely possible to compensate for absentees. One reason why the coach has recently called for new signings in the winter break: "We are missing people. We need to have competition for places and that means bringing in new players." It could well be that the management led by general manager Horst Heldt will be on the lookout for a creative player in attacking midfield.
However happy Hannover 96 supporters are with the team's performances on the pitch at the moment, some of them are concerned about the future of the club. President Martin Kind is looking to make use of an exemption from the 50+1 rule and acquire a majority of the votes at Hannover 96. The development has been criticised by certain sections of the fans but it could have a successful impact in terms of sporting success. By taking over the club, Kind is looking to open the way for potential investors to make the club more competitive and make full use of future potential. Whether his plans succeed and leads to desired success will be closely watched by all football fans in Germany.
As a newly promoted club, Hannover 96 will do well to focus completely on staying up. The team have established a solid base in the first half of the season and are already seven points ahead of the play-off position. If Harnik, Sané & Co. continue to perform as consistently in the second half of the season then the team from Lower Saxony will probably return to the position at the end of this campaign where they were before relegation. Ten of the fourteen seasons between 2002 and 2016 ended with the Reds between positions seven and thirteen in the table. That appears to be realistic again this season and it would make everybody involved in the Lower Saxony capital happy.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen has a new coffee partner. The club has agreed a long-term partnership with the Bocholt-based roastery Imping, running to 30 June 2031. The exclusive partnership with the family-run business includes the installation of fully automatic coffee machines at the BayArena, as well as the right to supply and serve coffee products in the business areas during Werkself home games.
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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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