For those in attendance, it was not just the victory on the day that took the team into the top four of the table which provided smiles all around, but the chance to join together in camaraderie with other Bayer 04 fans and followers at a cozy neighborhood sports bar.
“I’ve been a Leverkusen fan consistently for three years now and was really excited for the opportunity to join with fellow Bostonians and watch the team,” said Stefan Karlberg. “The team had a bumpy start but you can see that the players still have faith and still believe in the mission. That gives me faith when I watch them.”
Participants on this day included fans from around greater Boston and featured numerous guests and their families from the Bayer Research and Innovation Center (BRIC) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“I’m probably more of a new Leverkusen fan in the last couple of years,” said Matteo Aeldeghi who works at BRIC. “But I wanted to come here and support the team, be with friends and colleagues, and enjoy a good atmosphere.”
The event even included one enthusiastic fan ready to start the very first Bayer 04 Leverkusen fan club in Boston.
“I watch Bundesliga all weekend and would love to do it with others, for example as part of a fan club,” added Karlberg.
Numerous giveaways on the morning included Bayer 04 scarves, guaranteeing plenty of Bayer 04 logos to go around, with the highlight being the halftime drawing by one lucky fan for an autographed Malik Tillman home jersey in black.
And it was Tillman’s star power that in fact drew some of the fans to The Banshee.
“I’m actually a big US national team fan, and I came for Malik Tillman… love the player,” said Kalen Almeida. “But Leverkusen is an insanely easy team to root for. That 2023-24 season was amazing and that almost turned me into a full fan. It’s a great club.”
The gathering in Boston continues the club’s on-going internationalization efforts, engaging with the growing Bayer 04 Leverkusen fan base overseas in key markets like the U.S., Brazil, Mexico and China.
“These kinds of local events connect our fans around the world directly with our club and other Bayer 04 supporters in those markets,” said Tobias Schmidt, Head of Internationalization at Bayer 04. “The team has witnessed such a surge in interest internationally over the last decade, helped by our historic results in 2024, making it a terrific celebration of everything Bayer 04 when we bring them all together in one place.”
Werkself TV shows the highlights of the 4-0 victory in the friendly match against KRC Genk...
Show more
In their third friendly of this pre-season, Bayer 04 played on home soil for the first time – and won there too! The Werkself claimed a comfortable 4-0 victory against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. Jeanuel Belocian (9’) and Nathan Tella (42’) gave a dominant Leverkusen a 2-0 lead at the break, which Afonso Moreira (51’) and Christian Kofane (53’) doubled after the break. Among the many second-half substitutions was Patrik Schick, who made his first friendly appearance of the summer.
Show more
The Werkself continue their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with their third friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Wednesday 29 July (kick-off 15:00 CEST). Werkself-TV is broadcasting the match live and in full in a stream from 14:50 CEST...
After the children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy grilled Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch last week, another group of 20 young Werkself fans gathered at the BayArena press conference room on Tuesday afternoon, 28 July . This time, the kids directed their questions at Tim Oermann and Jonah Berghoff. Defender Oermann raved about his school days, whilst talented midfielder Berghoff revealed to the young footballers, amongst other things, who his favourite player is – and he is also at Bayer 04. To round things off, the pair naturally obliged with all requests for autographs and selfies.
Show more
Bayer 04 are back on the pitch. Following the first training sessions, the Werkself play the first pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 18. The match against Oberliga club Sportfreunde Baumberg kicks off at 15:30 CEST in Monheim am Rhein. Fans unable to attend the match can watch head coach Carles Martínez’s first game in charge for free via a livestream at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app, as well as on Werkself.tv (exclusively for members). Just log on and watch the games live. All the other Werkself preseason friendlies leading up to the 2026/27 season will also be streamed live for free.
Show more
