The evening started with a setback for Bayer 04: Fabian ‘B04_Dubzje’ de Cae was 3-0 down after 25 minutes against the Mainz player Deniel ‘Denii_10’ Mutic on XBOX; and the final score was 4-0. “I lost the game by a country mile,” said a disappointed de Cae. “I was unlucky at times but the defeat was obviously deserved.”
All the more important was the victory for Kai ‘Deto’ Wollin in the following one-on-one on PlayStation. Up against the Mainz 05 player Francesco ‘Bajazzo_7’ Mazzei, the two-time world champion in Black and Red spent “ten minutes where I was just chasing the game.” However, thanks to an improved performance, ‘Deto’ ended up winning the clash 2-0. There was a change of formation to 4-4-2 in the two-on-two game – and that brought the next three points. “I’d like to thank ‘Deto’ for “helping me bounce back after my defeat. The six points against direct rivals are very important,” was de Cae’s assessment of the first part of the double matchday.
In contrast to the Mainz game, ‘Deto’ was more successful in the opener against HSV. The B04 eSports player controlled the clash with Hamburg’s Leon ‘HSV__Leon’ Krasniqi and he earned a deserved 3-0 win on PlayStation. And de Cae also performed better than against Mainz, earning a 2-1 win against Christoph ‘HSV Chrissi’ Strietzel “thanks to an improved performance” (SOT de Cae).
Bayer 04 only failed to win maximum points in the two-on-two against the Hamburg players Niklas ‘HSV NHeisen’ Heisen and Quinten ‘HSV Quinten’ van der Most – the final score 1-1. “We could have got three points here too,” declared Leverkusen’s de Cae. His partner ‘Deto’ summed up proceedings as follows: “13 out of 18 points against direct rivals – that’s a good result!”
‘B04_Dubzje’ and ‘Deto’ are back in action on Wednesday, 22 January with games against VfL Wolfsburg (18.00 CET) and Schalke 04 (20.30 CET). In a change from Monday games in the first half of the season, the regular VBL matchdays will now be on Wednesdays.
Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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The next footballing highlight is just around the corner: the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 23rd edition of the tournament, will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico and feature 48 teams for the first time. Bayer04.de has all the latest on the Werkself players called up to represent their countries.
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While the majority of the Bayer 04 Women are enjoying their summer break, nine Werkself players will be on duty for their national teams in the coming days. Three of them are competing for a place at the World Cup, while six are involved in two friendlies with the Germany U23 team.
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