For head coach Roger Schmidt it’s a trip down memory lane. He played for Verl from 1995 to 2002, was the team captain scoring 54 goals in 205 games and later he went on to coach the the side. Schmidt started his coaching career at Delbrück in 2004 and he led DSC into the DFB Cup. There will certainly be a party atmosphere in Verl on Friday night as the fixture is the opening match at the club’s new home with a capacity of 5,000.
And the Werkself certainly provide attractive opposition for the occasion as Champions League participants with Roger Schmidt returning to his roots. “This match against Bayer 04 is a great honour to us. We’re still in contact with Roger Schmidt and we’re looking forward to the game,” said Verl’s coach Andreas Golombek who ended last season with his team in tenth place in the Regional League West.
The Friday morning training session at the BayArena and lunch will be followed by the Werkself heading to Eastern Westphalia where the team will be based at the Hotel Klosterpforte in Marienfeld. The squad have three training sessions there on Saturday and Sunday morning and after the match at Delbrück in the afternoon it’s back to Leverkusen.
Cup tie against Hauenstein on a Sunday
The first competitive match for the Werkself in the 2016/17 campaign has been confirmed: Bayer 04 play the First Round DFB tie in Pirmasens against SC Hauenstein on Sunday 21 August at 15.30 CET.
The Bundesliga has announced the nominees for the ‘Top Goal of the Month’ award for October. Fans of the Werkself can now vote for, amongst others, Robert Andrich’s stunning volley from the match against Mainz 05 or Moussa Diaby’s curling shot into the top corner from the same fixture. Voting, exclusively on the Bundesliga app, remains open until Sunday, 8 November (23:59 CET).
Show more
Bayer 04 host Borussia Mönchengladbach at the BayArena on matchday 12 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The schedule for the game remains to be confirmed. The latest information on ticket sales.
Show more
Bayer 04 host Eintracht Frankfurt at the BayArena on matchday 14 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The schedule for the game remains to be confirmed. The latest information on ticket sales.
Show more
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the women's DFB-Pokal 2026/27
Show more
“As far as mentality and determination are concerned, we have nothing to reproach ourselves for,” Robert Andrich said up after the first home defeat for the Werkself this term. In terms of their play, too, the Black and Reds put in a respectable performance for long stretches of this intense and physical match, outperforming VfB Stuttgart in most areas. It was only in terms of efficiency in front of goal that the Swabians had the edge over the Werkself. Head coach Carles Martínez wants to learn from this so that, in future, they can “win this sort of match too”. The Werkself review.
Show more
