Fernando Carro, CEO of Bayer 04, honoured Nowotny by the side of the pitch shortly before kick-off in the first 2024/25 Bundesliga encounter at the BayArena and handed an honorary captain's pennant to the likeable ex-defender.
Nowotny, who played under the Cross from 1996 to 2006, spoke of his new role as honorary captain at the end of the last double season as news that "makes me very proud. My time at Bayer 04 Leverkusen was very formative for me, it was the most successful period of my life as a professional." The 50-year-old continued: "Back then, we were able to establish the club at the top of German football and also on the European football map. I'm particularly pleased that the honour coincides with the club's greatest success, winning the 2024 Bundesliga title."
As assistant coach of the German U17 side, Nowotny became a world champion in Indonesia in December 2023. The 48-year-old still demonstrates his close association with the Werkself today with regular outings for the Bayer 04 legends team.
Bayer 04's honorary captains are: Rüdiger Vollborn, Bernd Schneider, Ulf Kirsten, Carsten Ramelow, Simon Rolfes, Stefan Kießling, Lars Bender, Jens Nowotny (since August 2024).
Bayer 04’s Ibrahim Maza is among the three nominees for the Bundesliga’s 2025/26 Rookie of the Season award. Fans have until 23:59 CEST on Thursday, 7 May to cast their votes in the official Bundesliga app.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-0 win at SGS Essen on the 24th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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In the previous game against RB Leipzig in December last year, the Werkself turned came from behind to win 3-1 and further improved Leverkusen's already strong record against the Red Bulls. Montrell Culbreath stood out with his first goal on his debut for the Black and Reds. While the 18-year-old would certainly like to score a second goal against Leipzig on Saturday night, the attack-minded visitors come to the BayArena in confident mood after five Bundesliga victories in a row. The Nordkurve12 supporters group knows the Werkself will therefore once again be reliant on the vociferous support of the fans, and has once again called for the ‘Finally Red’ campaign in the run-in. Today’s matchday news.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
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After matchday 31 and the 2-1 derby win in Cologne, one thing is certain: Bayer 04 will at least compete in the UEFA Europa League in the coming 2026/27 campaign. But the Werkself want more. Looking at the race for Champions League qualification and the remaining three league fixtures, including against direct rivals, bayer04.de outlines the possible scenarios in the season run-in.
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