
Mr Schmitz, there are no games in the Bundesliga due to the coronavirus crisis. Does a break like that benefit the ground staff?
The sense and purpose of our work is maintaining the best possible playing surface – and that’s clearly working very well at the moment. But it’s anything but good against the background of the coronavirus crisis. Grass and football go hand in hand.
There are normally lots of games in the closing stages of a season. How has the daily work routine at Bismarckstraße and at Kurtekotten changed for you and your team in recent weeks?
We’ve come out of a period of lots of games. The pitch is in very good condition again now. That’s why it was and and is about doing pre-emptive work. We’ve been able to use the break up to now to bring forward remedial measures, which normally happen in the summer. At the same time, the temperatures aren’t yet optimal so we have to support the processes with undersoil heating and lighting.

Last season, the Werkself played four games in twelve days at the BayArena between October and November. There could be a similarly busy schedule with the end of the season possible in early summer.
At the time we had a lot of rainfall and cold temperatures. We’re now expecting warmer and sunnier weather and growth will increase. If grass is fed with the right nutrients then it can grow two centimetres overnight and look completely different after two days. With the problem of worn areas like the goalmouth, we’ll have to replace them during a phase like this.
Head coach Peter Bosz never tires of emphasising how important a good pitch is for the way the Werkself play. What’s particularly important with your work on the pitch?
The demands on pitches is high throughout the league. We always aim to get worn areas green again as soon as possible. We work with a natural product that sometimes takes a bit of time. We use artificial light and heat to speed up the process. One challenge in our day-to-day work is the height of the grass is getting lower and lower. A couple of years ago it was mostly 28 millimetres and now it’s often 23 or 24 millimetres. That’s why we sowed 100 per cent meadow grass when he replaced the pitch in November. This type has very vigorous root growth. Finally, we sowed pasture grass because it recovers quicker.
And finally: Are you as busy in your own garden at home?
The circumstances are very different (he laughs). It’s a landscape lawn with daisies and clover. Everything that should be there.

Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
Show more
Bayer 04’s eight opponents in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League have been confirmed. At the draw on Friday 28 August held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, the Werkself were drawn against two opponents from each of the four pots. There are a total of four home and four away matches. Read on for details of opponents and fixture dates.
Show more
In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-3 loss at SV 07 Elversberg on Matchday 1 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
Show more
No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
Show more