"Bayer 04 Leverkusen had a phenomenal season and exceeded their own expectations by winning the league title and the DFB Pokal. That success is the result of hard work, great passion and genuine team spirit," said Minister President Hendrik Wüst. "We are proud that we have a club from North Rhine Westphalia at the top of the Bundesliga again after a long time. Leverkusen not only brought the title to North Rhine Westphalia but also showed what can be achieved with stamina and cohesion. Therefore I would like to sincerely congratulate the team and the whole club."
Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO: "We felt very honoured to receive the invitation from the Minister-President and we immediately accepted it with pleasure. We are very happy to have brought the Meisterschale back to the sporting state of North Rhine Westphalia for the first time in twelve years. We would like to thank everybody who supported us during that unforgettable time."
In the presence of the NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul, a season card holder at Bayer 04 for many years, Carro presented Minister-President Wüst with a signed champions jersey following a group photo.
Amongst other guests were Peter Frymuth (President of the Western German Football Association), Marc Adomat (City manager in Leverkusen), Nathanael Liminski (Head of the state chancellery), Dr. Thomas Wilk (District president of Cologne) and Anke Feller (Deputy chair of the NRW sports foundation).
Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without goalkeeper Mark Flekken and forward Nathan Tella for the time being.
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After a week in the Algarve, the Bayer 04 Women returned home on Saturday afternoon. The Werkself had six training sessions, two friendlies and a lot of time together as a team. Roberto Pätzold's team will be back in action in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga next Friday for the start of matchday 15.
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"We didn’t make the right decision at the right moments," said captain Robert Andrich after the 1-0 defeat away to TSG Hoffenheim, where Bayer 04 endeavoured to control the game but failed to score. The Werkself also had two enforced substitutions due to injuries. Nevertheless, the coach, captain and debutant Janis Blaswich are positive about the coming weeks. The Werkself review.
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