"An away game at a second division club is a draw we can be happy with," said Bayer 04 head coach Heiko Herrlich on Sunday evening shortly after the draw. "However, FC Heidenheim are definitely not to be taken for granted at their own stadium so it will definitely be a challenge for us."
The draw at the German Football Museum in Dortmund was made by the blind footballer Serdal Celebi of FC St. Pauli. The former Germany international of blind football won the August Goal of the Month competition. His strike in the Germany championship final was the first goal of the month to be scored by a blind player. Germany Women's coach Horst Hrubesch was in charge of the draw.
Formed in 2007 as a breakaway from Heidenheimer Sportbund, FC Heidenheim have played in the second division since 2014. Last season, Heidenheim were also in the DFB Cup Round of 16 where they narrowly lost 2-1 to the eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt. Since 2007, the team has been coached by Frank Schmidt who used to play for FC Nürnberg Reserves, Alemannia Aachen and Waldhof Mannheim. "Coach Frank Schmidt has done a great job there for years. We will need to be fully focused at Heidenheim. But it is clear we want to go through to the next round," said Herrlich.
Bayer 04 and FC Heidenheim have never played each other before.
There are big games in the Round of of 16 with Bundesliga clashes of Hertha Berlin against Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund against Werder Bremen. The relegated Bundesliga founders Hamburg SV face FC Nürnberg.
Round of 16 draw in full:
Hamburg SV v FC Nürnberg
FC Heidenheim v Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Schalke 04 v Fortuna Düsseldorf
Holstein Kiel v FC Augsburg
Hertha Berlin v FC Bayern Munich
MSV Duisburg v SC Paderborn
Borussia Dortmund v Werder Bremen
RB Leipzig v VfL Wolfsburg
Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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Nathan Tella has extended his contract with Bayer 04 to 2031. In an interview with Werkself TV, the 26-year-old talks about fulfilling his dreams, his positive outlook on life and his goals for the future. He answers the questions in English - all except the last one, which he addresses directly to the fans...
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In the final international break in the current 2025/26 campaign, Bayer 04 striker Patrik Schick with Czechia will be battling for a place at the World Cup. Meanwhile, national teams that have already qualified, include other Werkself players called up, are involved in friendlies in the build-up to the World Cup. Read on for an overview of the Leverkusen internationals and their match dates.
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The Werkself kicked off the final international break of the current season on Monday morning with the first of three open training sessions this week. While eleven Bayer 04 players will be away on international duty in the coming days, the other players will be working together in Leverkusen. The next challenge in the Bundesliga awaits on Saturday, 4 April (kick-off: 15:30 CEST) with the home game against VfL Wolfsburg.
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