“I will never forget this day,” said the happy Verena Kümper (30). Verena and her partner Alexander (33) both said yes in face masks in the centre circle at the BayArena on Thursday. “It was great to be on the pitch. We put the coronavirus crisis out of our minds for that moment and just focused on each other.”
30 April is not only the date of the wedding of the Leverkusen couple but also the date of when they first met three years ago. The Kümpers got to know each other in Saarbrücken where they were working on their doctorates. At the end of April 2017 they came back from a walk in the Saarbrücken forest as a couple. Verena and Alexander have been living in the Leverkusen district of Opladen for the past year.
A lot has happened since then: The couple found out that Verena was pregnant just before Christmas in 2019. “We spoke to the registry office because we wanted to get married before the baby is born. And as soon as possible so that Verena can still get into her wedding dress,” explained Alexander with a smile. One of the first dates available was – fittingly – 30 April. The marriage venue: the BayArena. Plans were quickly put into action. Until the coronavirus pandemic put a spanner in the works.
The couple had to cancel their planned wedding ceremony in a restaurant on the Wupper and instead deal with the regulations for the wedding: Temperatures taken on the wedding day, face masks for the wedding vow, maintaining the social distance of 1.5 metres to the registrar. “On the wedding day itself we were able to concentrate on ourselves. The organisation of the event by BayArena+ ran smoothly; we were presented with a cake from the club,” said Verena Kümper.
The couple were linked to relatives from the ceremony, via a mobile phone on a tripod. That was followed by the obligatory wedding photos on the pitch – and the wedding couple were able to take off their face masks for the traditional kiss. All in all, Verena and Alexander Kümper were very happy with the wedding at a venue where Bundesliga football is played.
This afternoon, Saturday 24 January (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayer 04 host SV Werder Bremen, who are winless in their last seven league games. Nevertheless, in their last outing, a 3-3 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt, where they conceded a late equaliser, the Green and Whites did show their team spirit. The Werkself, led by birthday boy Patrik Schick, will be looking to counter this and secure their first three points of the new year on this ‘!Never Again’ remembrance matchday to commemorate the victims of National Socialism. Read on for the latest information in today's matchday news.
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Happy birthday, Patrik Schick! On his special day, it's not just the Czech striker who can look forward to lots of presents and hopefully many more goals – Bayer 04 fans can also get their hands on a free number 14 print when they buy a Werkself jersey today, January 24! In addition, a match-worn jersey belonging to the now 30-year-old will be raffled off among all purchasers next week.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-1 win at 1. FC Union Berlin on the 15th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Despite a severely depleted squad and being a player down, the Bayer 04 Women made a winning start to their 2026 campaign. Coach Roberto Pätzold's team won 2-1 at newly promoted FC Union Berlin on Friday night thanks to a last-minute goal. Vanessa Fudalla scored from a direct free-kick (78') and Kristin Kögel (90+2’) in stoppage time for the Werkself, who were reduced to ten players on 68 minutes, on an atmospheric stage at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. As a result, the Black and Reds are now fifth in the table for at least one night at the start of matchday 15.
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The Werkself are looking for the first win of the new calendar year: Ahead of the sold-out Bundesliga home match against SV Werder Bremen on Saturday, 24 January (kick-off: 15:30 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about taking chances, possible winter transfers and a “Lion" returning to the Leverkusen matchday squad.
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