
In April 1979, Hoene – then director of crop protection at Bayer AG and responsible for Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand – was appointed as chairman of the football section at TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen as the successor to Hermann Büchel. A few weeks later, he celebrated promotion to the Bundesliga with Bayer 04. From 1983, Volrath Hoene worked as deputy head of department in the youth and amateur sections at Bayer 04. He was re-elected as head of the football section in 1988 and he experienced the biggest ever success for the Werkself on the European stage when Bayer 04 won the UEFA Cup on 18 May 1998. He also celebrated his silver wedding anniversary on the same day. After leaving the board of the football section ,Volrath Hoene worked for Bayer AG in Hong Kong before later returning to Berlin.


Bayer 04 are riding a wave of success on the European stage: After three wins from their first three games and as the only team yet to concede a goal, the Werkself sit second in the table in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. With another three points in their first-ever competitive match against Olympique Marseille on Thursday night, 5 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Bayer 04 could leap to the top of the table. Meanwhile, the French side are riding the wave of a winning streak in Ligue 1, but are yet to pick up any points in the Europa League. For one Werkself player, Thursday night will mark a reunion with his former team-mates. Today’s matchday news.
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The Europa League campaign continues: Bayer 04 host Olympique Marseille at the BayArena on matchday four of the group stage on Thursday 5 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET). Ahead of the clash against the club from the French Mediterranean coast, head coach Carles Martínez spoke about the visitors’ form and had some good news regarding the squad. Former OM player Facundo Medina spoke, amongst other things, about the factors that will be crucial against his old club.
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The Bayer 04 Round of 16 tie in the 2026/27 DFB Pokal has been scheduled. The Werkself will host Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig on Wednesday, 2 December, at 18:00 CET. That was announced by the German Football Association (DFB).
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Video game developer Electronic Arts (EA), in collaboration with the Bundesliga, has announced the six nominees for the Bundesliga Player of the Month award for October 2026 – and Bayer 04’s Ibrahim Maza is among them. Fans of the Black and Reds can vote from now until Sunday 8 November (23:59 CET).
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