The Werkself took a narrow 1-0 lead from the first leg to Bremen. Whether it was the hotel stay with its added noise ahead of the semi-final second leg or the improvisation with the line-up forced on the then Bayer 04 head coach Erich Ribbeck: The omens for the all-German clash in the European competition could have been better from a black and red perspective.
However, the Werkself kept a clean sheet on the night primarily thanks to an impressive defensive performance – to go through to the final. We bring you the story of the heroic defensive battle of 1988 HERE.
Ahead of Bayer 04's Europa League match away to OFI Crete in Greece, defender Jarell Quansah spoke to Werkself-TV...
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It couldn't have been any tighter! Despite winning four of six games in the online preliminary round in Showdown 1 of the VBL Club Championship 2026/27, Leverkusen eSports duo Marc and Sean Landwehr didn't make it through to the offline knockout round. Level on points (12) with seven other teams, Leverkusen were the only team with this points tally not to progress as they had the worst single-game record compared to their rivals.
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He's one of the leading figures of Leverkusen and the German economy: Werner Wenning rose from an apprentice at Bayer 04 to CEO of the global company. A childhood Werkself fan, he has held a position of responsibility at the club for many years as chairman of the shareholder committee of Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH. Today the Leverkusen native celebrates his 80th birthday. The entire Bayer 04 family offers its warmest wishes!
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OFI Crete have begun the UEFA Europa League league phase with one win and one defeat. The Greek Cup winners are still unbeaten at home this season, so a tricky assignment awaits the Werkself at the Pankritio on Thursday 22 October (kick-off 18:45 CEST). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have drafted in Jonas Hofmann to their UEFA Europa League squad. The 34-year-old attacking midfielder will travel with the Werkself to Greece tomorrow, Wednesday 21 October, ahead of the match at OFI Crete the following day. Hofmann replaces injured teammate Martin Terrier in the squad.
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