Back
18.05.2022Bayer 04

#Bayer04MexicoTour – The Werkself over the pyramids of Teotihuacán

Five o’clock in the morning in the lobby of the Bayer 04 team hotel in the centre of Mexico City: Some two dozen players, coaches, members of staff and employees of the Werkself meet up for a special trip. They travel on the team bus to the pyramid of the sun at Teotihuacán – which Lukas Hradecky and Co. not just observe from the ground.
crop_20220518_JS_Mexico_Day4_0221.jpg

Just a few hours after the Werkself friendly against Deportivo Toluca (0-1), Julian Baumgartlinger, Lennart Grill and Co. are already back on their feet. Part of the Bayer 04 tour group has registered for a hot-air balloon flight over the pyramids of Teotihuacán.

crop_20220518_JS_Mexico_Day4_0198.jpg

Having arrived at the destination, there was first a short coffee break while the hot-air balloons were prepared – two of them allocated to the visitors from Leverkusen in Black and Red.

Rolfes' second flight in a hot-air balloon

At seven in the morning on the dot, the first group including sporting director Simon Rolfes and honorary captain Stefan Kießling gathered around the balloon and watched the final preparations before climbing into the basket.

For Rolfes it was his second flight in a hot-air balloon. The 40-year-old just before ascending into the air: “I did it back home in Münsterland when I was 13 or 14 years old. Of course, the pyramids here are completely different. I’m really looking forward to it!”

 

crop_20220518_JS_Mexico_Day4_0012.jpg

Once up in the air there was no end to the amazement for the travellers: The so-called pyramids of the sun, which the hot-air balloon was flying over, are the third biggest in the world with a diameter of 225 x 225 metres and a height of 63 metres; the neighbouring pyramids of the moon are the fourth biggest. They are sited in the centre of the ruined Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacán, some 45 kilometres north-east of Mexico City.

Pinpoint landing

In between the many photos and videos taken, Rolfes and Kießling discovered one of the local football pitches below them - a new perspective for the former long-serving Bundesliga players from a height of 300 metres.

To the amazement of everybody, the Bayer 04 balloon finally descended to a field surrounded by cactuses exactly next to a trailer – and they were brought back on it to base and then to the team bus. A successful hot-air balloon trip in the air and on the ground.

Related News

Werkself beim Torjubel
Bundesliga - 08.11.2026

Werkself win 2-1 in Cologne to claim sixth straight derby win

There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.

Show more
crop_20260425_FS_KOEB04_250046.jpg
Bundesliga - 08.11.2026

Matchday News: Werkself out to continue derby run

Bayer 04 have won each of their last five competitive encounters with 1. FC Köln, and it's around seven years since their last defeat in the cathedral city. That said, the hosts are in strong form at home and will make it anything but easy for the Werkself at the RheinEnergieSTADION on Sunday afternoon (kick-off 15:30 CET). The Matchday News.

Show more
Women: TV-highlights of 2-0 win against Hamburger SV
Werkself-TV - 07.11.2026

Women: TV-highlights of 2-0 win against Hamburger SV

Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 2-0 win against Hamburger SV on Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.

Show more
1. FC Köln
Bundesliga - 07.11.2026

Our next opponents: Köln defensively solid and with more attacking options again

1. FC Köln host Bayer 04 on Sunday 8 November (kick-off 15:30 CET) in the 75th Bundesliga derby between the Rhineland neighbours. The lowdown on our next opponents.

Show more