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).
The long-standing successful collaboration between Bayer 04 and the transport service provider wupsi GmbH has been expanded: From January 2026, 100 wupsi bikes with Bayer 04 branding will be available for hire throughout the city of Leverkusen. They will complement the many existing offers and services that provide key support, especially for fans travelling to and from home matches at the BayArena.
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The Werkself are back! Following the two-week winter break, head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team began the new year with an open session on Sunday. After Robert Andrich and his teammates arrived in Leverkusen yesterday for the official check-in, they got back down to business a day later in front of around 1,200 fans at the Ulrich Haberland Stadion. The report from the Werkself's first session of 2026.
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In her debut season of 2024/25, Cornelia Kramer immediately became the top scorer for Bayer 04 Women. However, the Danish national team striker was stopped by an injury at the start of the new season. Now, just in time before the end of last year, she is fit again – and has extended her contract early until 2027. In this interview, the 23-year-old talks about the reasons for her decision and looks ahead.
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After a two-week winter break, the Werkself resume training on Sunday, 4 January. The first session in 2026 at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium starts at 11:00 and is open to fans. Bayer 04 look forward to welcoming supporters at the start of 2026. The Werkself schedule for the new year.
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