Bayer 04 had a long wait to discover their opponents in the first round of the DFB Cup: When Palina Rojinski pulled out the 62nd of 64 balls, Heiko Herrlich's team were drawn against Oberliga side CfR Pforzheim for in the first competitive match of the new campaign.
This will be the first ever game between Bayer 04 and Pforzheim. The club from central Baden was established in 2010 following the merger of VfR Pforzheim and FC Pforzheim. The club has been in the Baden-Württemberg Oberliga since promotion in 2015. The team coached by Gökhan Gökce finished thirteenth last season.
Pforzheim qualified for the DFB Cup as finalists of the Baden State Cup. CfR lost 6-5 on penalties but went through as the winners Karlsruher SC, last season's first round opponents for the Werkself, qualify for the national cup competition as a third division club.
The first round ties in the DFB Cup will played from 17-20 August with the final details of the fixtures to be confirmed.
DFB Cup Round One draw in full:
SV Linx (Verbandsliga) v FC Nürnberg (Bundesliga)
SV Wehen Wiesbaden (Division 3) v FC St. Pauli (Bundesliga 2)
SV Rödinghausen (Regional League West) v Dynamo Dresden (Bundesliga 2)
FC Magdeburg (Bundesliga 2) v SV Darmstadt 98 (Bundesliga 2)
FC Lok Stendal (Oberliga) v Arminia Bielefeld (Bundesliga 2)
TuS Erndtebrück (Oberliga) v Hamburg SV (Bundesliga 2)
TSV Steinbach (Regional League South West) v FC Augsburg (Bundesliga)
TuS Rot-Weiß Koblenz (Oberliga) v Fortuna Düsseldorf (Bundesliga)
SpVgg Greuther Fürth (Bundesliga 2) v Borussia Dortmund (Bundesliga)
TSV 1860 München (Division 3) v Holstein Kiel (Bundesliga 2)
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (Regional League West) v SV Sandhausen (Bundesliga 2)
Erzgebirge Aue (Bundesliga 2) v FSV Mainz 05 (Bundesliga)
Weiche Flensburg 08 (Regional League North) v VfL Bochum (Bundesliga 2)
BSG Chemie Leipzig (Oberliga) v Jahn Regensburg (Bundesliga 2)
SV Elversberg 07 (Regional League South West) v VfL Wolfsburg (Bundesliga)
TuS Dassendorf (Oberliga) v MSV Duisburg (Bundesliga 2)
FC Schweinfurt 05 (Regional League Bavaria) v Schalke 04 (Bundesliga)
BFC Dynamo (Regional League North) v FC Köln (Bundesliga 2)
Wormatia Worms (Regional League South West) v Werder Bremen (Bundesliga)
SV Drochtersen/Assel (Regional League North) v Bayern Munich (Bundesliga)
SSV Jeddeloh II (Regional League North) v FC Heidenheim (Bundesliga 2)
FC Kaiserslautern (Division 3) v TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (Bundesliga)
Viktoria Köln (Regional League West) v RB Leipzig (Bundesliga)
Carl Zeiss Jena (Division 3) v FC Union Berlin (Bundesliga 2)
SC Paderborn (Bundesliga 2) v FC Ingolstadt (Bundesliga 2)
BSC Hastedt (Oberliga) v Borussia Mönchengladbach (Bundesliga)
Energie Cottbus (Division 3) v SC Freiburg (Bundesliga)
Karlsruher SC (Division 3) v Hannover 96 (Bundesliga)
Eintracht Braunschweig (Division 3) v Hertha Berlin (Bundesliga)
Hansa Rostock (Division 3) v VfB Stuttgart (Bundesliga)
CfR Pforzheim (Oberliga) v Bayer 04
SSV Ulm (Regional League Bavaria) v Eintracht Frankfurt (Bundesliga)
Key dates in 2018/2019 DFB Cup:
Round 2: 30/31 October 2018
Round of 16: 5/6 February 2019
Quarter-finals: 2/3 April 2019
Semi-finals: 23/24 April 2019
Final: 25 May 2019
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a loan deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach for Argentinian striker Alejo Sarco. The 20-year-old joins Mönchengladbach with immediate effect for the rest of the season.
Show more
After their first win on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase, Olympiacos are still in with a good chance of reaching the play-offs in the UEFA Champions League. The 2024 UEFA Conference League winners will be looking to go one better in their home match against Bayer 04 this Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), but their stop scorer is unavailable. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
Show more
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...
Show more
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without goalkeeper Mark Flekken and forward Nathan Tella for the time being.
Show more
