14.11.2022Bayer 04

#Bayer04USATour – Day one: Black and Red reception in St. Louis

The final competitive match of the year against VfB Stuttgart (2-0) was just a few hours old when the next highlight came for the Werkself: Bayer 04 flew out to St Louis on Sunday morning 13 November to play a friendly against the newly formed team in the Major League Soccer (MLS) St. Louis CITY Soccer Club. Day one of the #Bayer04USATour 2022 involved arriving in St. Louis with several of the Werkself players joining a short tour of the newly built CITYPARK Stadium in the evening.

On Saturday evening, the 17 travelling Bayer 04 players, in a good mood after three Bundesliga wins in succession, boarded the team bus for the journey to Frankfurt Airport. Jonathan Tah and Co. stayed overnight in an airport hotel before flying out to St Louis on Sunday morning. The Werkself met up with the Hamburg SV team in departures. The second division club also flew out to the USA on Sunday to spend several days in Los Angeles. There was time for a short chat between HSV player Tim Leibold (left in photo) and Robert Andrich before the plane for St Louis left German soil on time at 10.45 CET.

The Werkself players were able to catch up on an hour or two of sleep during the nine-hour direct flight and everybody was back on their feet on arrival in St Louis in the USA state of Missouri – where they received an ecstatic reception from Black and Red fans.

Carro on St. Louis: "absolute Footall city"

The players, coaching staff including manager Xabi Alonso plus the board took plenty of time out at the exit from the airport to sign autographs and pose for selfies with the fans. Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, spoke to American TV reporters: "St. Louis is an absolute football city. We are happy to finally be back here and play the opening match at the new St Louis CITYPARK Stadium on Wednesday."

stadium tour at st. louis city sc

Following a late lunch at the team hotel, several of the Werkself players headed off on the team bus to take a look at the newly built stadium.

The tour of the stadium of the future MLS club started with the training ground, which is also brand-new, located right next to the stadium with its state-of-the-art technology. The group including Kerem Demirbay, Nadiem Amiri, Florian Wirtz and Co. walked past the training pitch to have the first look at the CITYPARK Stadium.

After visiting the spacious home dressing room it was off to the pitch to take a closer look at the interior of the stadium. Amiri and Co. are set to play a friendly against St. Louis CITY SC on Wednesday to officially open the brand new venue (kick-off: 16 November, 19.00 local time/02.00 CET 17 November)..

outlook: Bayer AG visit

Day two of the #Bayer04USATour starts for the players with a training session followed by media interviews at the training ground. The Black and Reds will then set off in the afternoon to the Bayer AG research centre in Chesterfield, 30 minutes away from the team hotel. That will be followed by a visit to the Soccer Clinics at Lou Fusz and the last part of the day in the evening with dinner at the city’s zoo.

Related News

Bayer 04 - 01.02.2026

Rudi recounts…: Vollborn’s February highlights

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.

Bayer 04 - 31.01.2026

Hjulmand: ‘Football is a reflection of life’ | Werkself-Magazin #54

Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.

Bundesliga - 31.01.2026

Matchday news #SGEB04: Extend longest winning run - Eintracht with interim coaches

The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.

Bayer 04 - 30.01.2026

Artem Stepanov recalled from Nürnberg and loaned to Utrecht

Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.

Champions League - 30.01.2026

Bayer 04 to face Olympiacos in UEFA Champions League play-offs

The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.