
"It was a great event with 32 teams and we went close to lifting the cup," said Dreher after an exciting final. The final game in the tournament ended in a 2-2 draw with the Borussia Dortmund team scoring the opener on 20 seconds and levelling the scores with 20 seconds to play. That bookmarked Bayer 04 goals scored by Marcel Podszus and David Müller. The left-footed Müller also made his debut in the Bayer 04 Veterans team as did Tim Jerat. Dortmund then won 3-1 in the penalty shoot-out.
The group matches saw Bayer 04 clock up two wins (2-0 against Marador Füchse with goals from Müller and Ioannis Masmanidis, 3-2 against Dieter Hein with strikes from Podszus (2 ) and Hüzeyfe Dogan) plus a 0-0 draw with Team Baxter. The knock-out rounds brought victories against Rot-Weiss Essen in the Round of 16 (2-0/Jerat and Dogan), VDV-Vereinigung in the last eight (2-0/double from Masmanidis) plus Sonepar in the semis. Podszus and Masmanidis found the back of the net a 2-2 draw and the shoot-out ended in a 3-2.
The Veterans next game is on Saturday in Leverkusen. The sports ground on Tannenbergstraße hosts a match against a Bayer 04 fans eleven. The kick-off is at 14.15 CET.

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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