“We’re flabbergasted. We are really happy that this little initiative has proved to be so popular with the fans and the citizens of Leverkusen,” said Stefan Kießling, himself an amateur chef and also the patron of the book, about the huge success of the project. “Nobody believed at the beginning that the 3,000 copies would be sold out in three weeks.”
The idea that led to to the book came from two Bayer 04 employees: Anne Pleus (TecArena+) and Sabrina Räbsch (Marketing) initially asked colleagues to provide recipes to be able to cheer up members of staff working from home via the intranet. Pleus and Räbsch tried out the recipes, had professional photos taken and sorted the right layout. The book with spiral binding turned out to be a bestseller within a few days of going on sale both in the Bayer 04 shops and on the online shop.
It is all in a good cause. The proceeds from the book go in full to Tafel Leverkusen. €15,000 will be handed over on Friday 18 December. “The Tafel with its 7,100 people in need in Leverkusen is obviously going through a tough time due to the coronavirus pandemic. That’s why this donation is not only a real financial blessing for us but also motivates us to return to normality in the coming weeks and months,” said Dr. Adolf Staffe, chairperson of Tafel Leverkusen e. V., in paying tribute to the Bayer 04 initiative.
On the title page: The cookbook initiators Sabrina Räbsch (l.) and Anne Pleus (r.), patron Stefan Kießling (m.) plus Dr. Adolf Staffe (chairperson, 2nd left) and Reiner Endlein (deputy chair, both Tafel Leverkusen).
Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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A rematch in Athens: On Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), the Werkself face Greek double winners Olympiacos for the second time this season at the Karaiskakis Stadium. After the encounter in the league phase, it's now time for the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-offs. Ahead of the game, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about how his side will approach the clash, while captain Robert Andrich explained how the team will try to dampen the atmosphere in the stadium tomorrow.
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With the much-celebrated 2-1 derby win against 1. FC Köln, the Bayer 04 Women underlined their credentials as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. Anyone wishing to support the Werkself in the stadium in the race for third place can now purchase tickets for the home match against FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Tickets are also still available for the upcoming clash against TSG Hoffenheim at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 22 February. The latest information at a glance.
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Let's give it our all one more time! Today, Tuesday 17 February (live on the VBL Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the #B04eSports team play the remaining three preliminary round matches of the fifth and final showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. The Leverkusen console pros go up against 1. FC Nürnberg, 1. FC Magdeburg and Bayern Munich, aiming to secure their place in the offline knockout round and pick up valuable points for the overall table and the battle to get into the final event for the German Club Championship. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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