Talking about his time at Leverkusen, the coach said: "It was a very exciting, very intense time" and he added: "In the opening phase we didn't manage to turn performances into points. And then we came into a difficult situation at a club not used to that situation with such young players. But in the last two weeks we have succeeded in completely focusing our minds. We could have won both games."
Korkut is now looking to clock up a victory in his last game with Bayer 04 in Berlin. For Hertha it is all about qualifying for Europe: The Berlin team could slip down to seventh place, which would be enough to qualify for the Europa League if Borussia Dortmund beat Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB Cup final.
Bayer 04 will definitely be without Kevin Volland (hamstring) for the game against Hertha. There is still a question mark over Ömer Toprak making appearance. Korkut: "I'll have to see how Ömer is. He's only trained on his own up to now and he hasn't taken part in full training."
All in red to Berlin
The #finallyRED campaign continues in Berlin. There is a tradition that all the Werkself fans show their support for Bayer 04 on the final matchday is of the season by wearing red. The Werkself will have the backing of some 1,900 fans in Berlin. Korkut: "The support against Köln was outstanding. We'd be glad to see that again. We want to celebrate a victory with the fans to round it off."
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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On Friday afternoon, it will be decided which eight of the 36 participating teams Bayer 04 will face in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in 2026/27. At the draw in Monaco (live on UEFA.com), the Werkself will be drawn against two teams from each of the four pots, allocated according to the UEFA club coefficient. A match against an opponent from the same country is ruled out, as is facing more than two clubs from the same national association. Here’s a look at the pots and potential opponents.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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