After breakfast, the Werkself walked ten minutes to The Arch, The 192 metre tall monument on the banks of the Mississippi. A team photo was taken there first and then a group photo of all the travelling Leverkusen delegation.
While the players and coaching staff returned to the team hotel to prepare for the match, Brian the Lion began his exploration of St Louis. After visiting the Old Courthouse, Brian made his next stop at the Busch Stadium, home to the St. Louis Cardinals. At the fan shop of the MLB baseball team, he met Fredbird, his opposite number at the Cardinals, and the duo captured the moment for posterity with a photo. Brian then returned to the team hotel.
The stands were a hive of activity and in good mood with the aroma of burgers, hot dogs and pizza drifting through the VIP area. On the pitch, the two teams looked to create plenty of chances – the setting for the opening of the newly built CITYPARK Stadium in St. Louis could hardly have been better. Ahead of the game, both the American and German national anthems were sung and then the two teams came together for a joint group photo before kick-off.
After an evenly balanced start to the game, the Werkself went on the front foot as the game progressed to threaten the goal of former Dortmund keeper Roman Bürki. Callum Hudson-Odoi gave the Black and Reds a deserved lead on 36 minutes. Centre forward Adam Hlozek doubled the lead at 2-0 (44') just before the break and then made it 3-0 (51') after the restart. The convincing lead of the Bundesliga side did nothing to affect the atmosphere in the stands at the sold-out CITYPARK Stadium.
The action on the pitch settled down from that point but Bayer 04 keeper Niklas Lomb did make two impressive flying saves (72’, 73’). Then came the final whistle at the CITYPARK Stadium. For St. Louis CITY SC it was a successful test ahead of the first MLS season and a successful conclusion of the #Bayer04USATour for the Werkself. Here is the match report.
On the penultimate day of the #Bayer04USATour there is another special event on the agenda: a visit to the Ranken Jordan hospital. The Werkself players will spend time with the boys and girls at the charitable rehab clinic for children with and without the ball. The evening will end for everybody with the NHL game between St. Louis Blues and the Washington Capitals.
Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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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 personal 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…
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with U19 midfielder Jonah Berghoff ahead of schedule. The Germany U18 international has signed professional terms with the club to 30 June 2030.
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Two months of preparation, five friendlies and the return of a familiar training camp location: After finishing fifth in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga last season, the Werkself will return to training on Tuesday, 23 June. Bayer04.de outlines the key dates in the 2026 summer timetable.
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