SUMMARY: MORE ACTION AFTER THE BREAK
The story of the match is quickly told. After a reasonable first half without any notable highlights, where Patrik Schick had the best chance for the Werkself with a header (36’), the game took off after the restart. Schick did not score this time but stood out as a selfless provider when he beat two Freiburg players and set up Lucas Alario to score the opener (54’). Schick did hit the bar (59’), Paulinho the outside of the post (64’). Freiburg levelled late on with a goal from Haberer (88’) before Bayer 04 regained the lead against opponents risking everything. A header from Sardar Azmoun also hit the woodwork but Exequiel Palacios made it 2-1 in the seventh minute of added time with a shot from just inside the halfway line into the empty Freiburg net. HERE is the match report.
REACTION: RUDI AND BAUMI SAY THANK YOU
On a day where football was no longer centre stage from a Leverkusen perspective, attention was primarily on Rudi Völler and Julian Baumgartlinger. “There is definitely no one in German football who will not miss him,” said Freiburg coach Christian Streich about the departing Bayer 04 sporting managing director. Both Völler and Julian Baumgartlinger, who also said farewell after six years in Black and Red, were visibly moved. “Today is the day where I’d like to say thank you to you all,” said Völler who climbed onto the fence in the North Stand to celebrate with the fans at the end of the game: “The big challenge was not to get injured climbing this mountain.” Baumi shared an insight into his emotions: “I’m deeply affected and eternally grateful for the appreciation I’ve always experienced here and, above all, today. Thank you for six great years! We will definitely meet again – either in the stadium or outside.”
PERSONNEL: A PARTY WITH FORMER GREATS
You never completely leave: Rudi Völler remains at Bayer 04 after the end of his term in management as a member of the shareholders committee and as a club ambassador. And it is certain that players like Julian Baumgartlinger will always have a strong connection to “their” club. In that respect, it was great that the most recent Bayer 04 honorary captain Lars Bender was again a guest at the BayArena. Bender was one of the many VIP guests on Saturday night at the farewell party for Rudi Völler at the Bayer AG casino. In addition to Bayer 04 staff, who presented Völler with a set of golf clubs, there were many other greats from the Leverkusen past including former coach Dragoslav Stepanovic, Berti Vogts and Christoph Daum as well as the former club bosses Reiner Calmund and Wolfgang Holzhäuser.
STATS: NOBODY PICKED UP MORE POINTS IN THE RÜCKRUNDE
The important stats were certain before the game: Bayer 04 finished third in the table and have qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the thirteenth time in the club’s history. In addition, the two goals for the Werkself against SC Freiburg extends the record to 80 goals in a season. Also worth noting: Bayer 04 are the second best away team in the league with 32 points from 17 matches behind FC Bayern (36). And no team picked up more points than Leverkusen in the Rückrunde (36, as did RB Leipzig).
WHAT THE PAPERS SAY: A WIN WITH 04 KEEPERS
For the media, the departure of Rudi Völler played the main role rather than the match against Freiburg. “Ruuudi climbs the fence to lead the singing,” is the headline in the Express. Nearly all the other reports were according to the motto “Bayer celebrate Völler”. The Bild am Sonntag does look at one curiosity: “Leverkusen win with four keepers. Bayer coach Seoane gives goalkeeper Lunev his Bundesliga debut and also has three other goalkeepers (Hradecky, Lomb, Grill) on the bench as a thank you for their hard work and loyalty over the season.”
OUTLOOK: OFF TO MEXICO
There is a small postscript for the Werkself at the end of this season: A Leverkusen delegation sets off from Frankfurt airport on Sunday for a six-day Mexico trip. In addition to a friendly on Tuesday 17 May at Mexican top-flight club Deportivo Toluca there will be a range of marketing and PR events as part of the centenary celebrations at Bayer Mexico. After holidays and the summer break – the international players have a number of fixtures in June – Gerardo Seoane will welcome his squad back to training on 27 June 27.
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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With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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The ‘year after’ the most successful year in the club's history brought many changes at Bayer 04. In an exclusive double interview with bayer04.de shortly before the Christmas break, Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes spoke about building a new team capable of winning trophies, the work of coach Kasper Hjulmand, the young new signings who have quickly developed into key players, and their personal plans for the Christmas holidays. Their outlook for the coming year also shows that the potential is far from exhausted and ambitions remain high.
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Last-minute ecstasy, huge disappointment and a historic performance on the European stage - 2025 was a real emotional roller coaster, especially for the U19s. A rousing run in the knockout phase secured the team a place in the final of the German championships, where they lost by the narrowest of margins. Despite the departure of several key players, the young Werkself team quickly regained their usual strength and qualified for the knockout rounds in the UEFA Youth League for the first time at the end of the year. In 2025, youngsters Jeremiah Mensah and Montrell Culbreath made their debuts in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. The other youth teams also contributed great performances and a number of trophies to the collective Black and Red success, while the successful Bayer 04 Future Kids project broke new ground. Read on for the 2025 review of the youth teams.
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