The #Bayer04MexicoTour is a highlight of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Bayer Mexico. The delegation was led by Arturo Sanchez (president of Bayer Consumer Health Latin America) and Mikel Arriola (president of the Mexican league MX) plus the management of the top-flight Mexican clubs Deportivo Toluca und Club América.
After arriving late on Friday evening, the group from Mexico received an insight into the world of Bayer 04 over the weekend. The programme included a guided tour of the BayArena, a U19 home game at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium as well as a visit to the Kurtekotten Performance Centre. The visitors received a presentation from Thomas Eichin, head of the Bayer 04 Performance Centre, on the professional structure and way of working in the youth and women sections at Bayer 04.
"The visit to the training ground was very interesting. It was exciting to see the level here and how professional the youth and women's teams are run," said Arturo Sanchez. "The whole infrastructure is impressive and shows the ambition here to work to achieve bigger targets."
After a number of discussions at the weekend on the planned projects, Monday took the group to the German Football League (DFL) in Frankfurt where Donata Hopfen, CEO of the DFL, explained the internationalisation strategy of the Bundesliga to the visitors. The visit was rounded off on Monday night at the BayArena watching the 2-0 home win for the Werkself against Eintracht Frankfurt.
The #Bayer04MexicoTour runs from 15 to 20 May in Mexico. The Werkself will play a friendly on Tuesday 17 May at the Estadio Nemesio Diez against the Mexican top-flight side Deportivo Toluca. In addition, a number of marketing and PR events are planned in the Mexican capital, plus discussions with representatives of the Mexican league and a cultural programme including visits to community facilities.
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
Show more
From special edition jerseys to fan banners, the home game against Mainz 05 was all about the many Bayer 04 fan clubs. Accordingly, a fitting tribute to the long-standing Werkself supporters was not to be missed during half-time in the Bundesliga match. Fernando Carro, CEO, honoured the up to 50-year anniversaries of six fan clubs in front of the coaches' benches at the BayArena.
Show more
There’s lots going on at the BayArena today. The home game against FSV Mainz 05 is all about the numerous Bayer 04 fan clubs, whose birth - the founding of the "1. Fanclub 1976 Leverkusen" - dates back 50 years. A number of fan club representatives will be involved in awards, a banner display and a half-time matchday chat, and the Werkself are set to play in a special white fan club jersey. During half-time, Leverkusen mayor Stefan Hebbel and javelin world champion Steffi Nerius will also talk about the Olympic bid involving Leverkusen. Black and Red fans are advised to get to the stadium in good time today. Matchday news.
Show more
The Werkself host Premier League club Arsenal in the Round of 16 first leg in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. The match at the BayArena is on 10/11 March. Read on for information on ticket sales for this fixture.
Show more
The draw for the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 was made today, Friday 27 February: Bayer 04 face Premier League leaders Arsenal. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes sees the English team as a "top opponent" and is looking forward to meeting former Werkself players Kai Havertz and Piero Hincapie again.
Show more
