All three received an official farewell at the last home game of the season against Schalke 04. The two managing directors Fernando Carro and Rudi Völler thanked the trio for their commitment to Bayer 04.
Jonas Boldt worked for the Werkself for a total of 15 years. It began in 2003 with a placement; in 2007 the man from Nuremberg joined the scouting department. As a scout, head scout, sporting manager and finally sporting director – the 37-year-old has played a significant part in all the transfers in recent years thus making a contribution to the success of the Werkself. At the end of November last year, Jonas Boldt decided to leave his post as sporting director and the club at the end of the season.
While Boldt leaves Bayer 04 after a long stay, Isaac Kiese Thelin and Thorsten Kirschbaum only moved to Leverkusen in the summer of 2018. Kiese Thelin joined the Werkself from Anderlecht on a season-long loan. Last term the Sweden striker made 14 appearances in all competitions and scored one goal.
Goalkeeper Thorsten Kirschbaum also leaves the club after one season. The 32-year-old was the third choice shot-stopper in this campaign behind Lukas Hradecky and Ramazan Özcan. In the middle of December the number 24 made his competitive debut for the Black and Reds in the 5-1 win at AEK Larnaca in the Europa League – it was also Kirschbaum’s first game in a European cup competition.
Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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A rematch in Athens: On Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), the Werkself face Greek double winners Olympiacos for the second time this season at the Karaiskakis Stadium. After the encounter in the league phase, it's now time for the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-offs. Ahead of the game, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about how his side will approach the clash, while captain Robert Andrich explained how the team will try to dampen the atmosphere in the stadium tomorrow.
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With the much-celebrated 2-1 derby win against 1. FC Köln, the Bayer 04 Women underlined their credentials as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. Anyone wishing to support the Werkself in the stadium in the race for third place can now purchase tickets for the home match against FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Tickets are also still available for the upcoming clash against TSG Hoffenheim at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 22 February. The latest information at a glance.
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Let's give it our all one more time! Today, Tuesday 17 February (live on the VBL Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the #B04eSports team play the remaining three preliminary round matches of the fifth and final showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. The Leverkusen console pros go up against 1. FC Nürnberg, 1. FC Magdeburg and Bayern Munich, aiming to secure their place in the offline knockout round and pick up valuable points for the overall table and the battle to get into the final event for the German Club Championship. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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