After the training session, a total of five players and an assistant were the focus of attention for various media. While Mitchell Weiser (Fußball Woche from Berlin) and Nadiem Amiri (Eurosport) each completed a telephone interview, Kevin Volland and the two Bender brothers faced questions from journalists at the BayArena. Volland spoke to the reporter from the Kicker (the interview will appear in Thursday’s edition), Sven Bender was with the Ruhr Nachrichten and twin brother Lars the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. The Werkself skipper sprang one or two surprises. In response to the question of whether he knew how many games he will have played if selected for the team to face BVB at the weekend, our number 8 answered in a flash: “The 301st game.“
The journalist was surprised for two reasons. On the one hand, that Bender knew the number straight away. His answer: “A fan told me after the Hoffenheim game that it was my 300th appearance for Bayer 04.” On the other hand, the number surprised the journalist. According to his online research it was 297 games. Lars Bender had the immediate solution to the puzzle: “That didn’t take into account the number of appearances for the second team.” The player born in Rosenheim made three appearances in the Regional League West between 2009 and 2011. “Club is club,” declared Bender who is on the way to the top ten in this club statistic. According to transfermarkt.de, Bernd Leno is in tenth place with 304 appearances for the Blacks and Reds. It’s a long way to the top spot. That is currently occupied by Rüdiger Vollborn with 478 games.
In addition to the five players, assistant coach Hendrie Krüzen also faced the media – this time the club broadcaster Bayer 04 TV. The long-standing assistant and friend of head coach Peter Bosz reported on eight months at Leverkusen, looked forward to the forthcoming clash with Borussia Dortmund (“We’re going there in a very confident mood!”) and he also revealed which player from the current squad could be compared with the player Hendrie Krüzen. The interview will appear on Thursday on bayer04.de and the club’s social media channels.
He’s on the right track. Joel Pohjanpalo, who has had to battle with circulation problems in his ankle, is doing more from one training session to the next. And the positive, subjective impression of the player was confirmed on Monday afternoon with an MRI scan. While the Finnish striker cannot yet return to full training, the medical assessment means he can gradually increase his workload.
Sporting director Simon Rolfes spoke out for closing the transfer window in the Bundesliga before the first league game in an interview with the Bild am Sonntag. “So teams have an equal chance with their squads at the start of the 17 games in the first half of the season,” said the 37-year-old. While the transfer window in the Bundesliga was open to 2 September, the Premier League window closed on 8 August. Players could only be signed by clubs in England up to that date. Rolfes: “I would welcome it if we, Spain, Italy and France would do the same.” As the sporting director of Bayer Leverkusen, he had already done that in the summer. The final new signing, Nadiem Amiri, was brought in at the end of July. Around one week before the transfer window had closed in England.
Dominik Kohr also moved on in time. The 25-year-old, who came through the ranks at Leverkusen, left at the start of July. The Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder is happy to look back at his time with the Werkself. “Every coach has his own ideas and it wasn’t right at the end. It was time to go even though I always felt good at Leverkusen,” said Kohr in an interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau. During the interview, he also revealed that Lukas Hradecky, who went the opposite way in the summer of 2018, and he are very different characters. “Lukas is a funny and special bloke. The moment he enters a room he has ten friends straight away. It takes me an hour before I can talk to somebody.”
A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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