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).
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the women's DFB-Pokal 2026/27
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Having previously recorded six consecutive home wins across all competitions, Bayer 04 suffered their first home defeat of 2026/27 as they went down 4-2 to VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on Matchday 8. The visitors capitalised on their first two chances to score, with Ermedin Demirovic and Jamie Leweling finding the net in the first half. Although Patrik Schick got a goal back in the first half, Bilal El Khannouss and Demirovic again added further goals for Stuttgart. Bayer 04 didn’t give up, but Ibrahim Maza’s goal proved little more than a consolation.
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Fans at the BayArena got to enjoy a spectacle on Wednesday as the Werkself came from behind to beat Nürnberg 5-2 in the DFB Pokal. Now with the sixth home game of the season, can Bayer 04 maintain their perfect record in Leverkusen as VfB Stuttgart come to town in the Bundesliga on Saturday (15:30 CET)? The visitors have had issues domestically this term, sitting in 15th place, although they have had much better results in the UEFA Champions League. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 8 encounter…
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The Bayern Munich women’s football team are unbeaten in all domestic competitions in the last 62 matches. On Sunday (15:00 CET), the Bayer 04 women’s team will make their next attempt to end the holders unbeaten run in the DFB Pokal Round of 16 tie. For coach Roberto Pätzold, there are a number of factors that give the Werkself cause for optimism despite the high-calibre opposition.
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