Back
2.04.2020Bayer 04

‘Grass and football go hand in hand’

Lush and thick grass is his mission: Georg Schmitz, head groundsman at Bayer 04 and full-time at Leverkusen since 1997, and his 14 colleagues look after 70,000 square metres of turf. The 50-year-old spoke to bayer04.de about work practices during the coronavirus crisis, the heavy workload during the closing stages of the season with a potentially packed fixture list and increased demands on his department.
crop_20200331_schueler_b04_110.jpg

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.

 

 

 

crop_20200331_schueler_b04_130.jpg
Georg Schmitz, head groundsman at Bayer 04, and his team look after the pitch at the BayArena.

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.

Related News

eSports-Trikot
eSports - 07.08.2026

#B04eSports: The eSports jersey for the 2026/27 season

Kicking off the new season with a fresh look: Bayer 04, in collaboration with sportswear manufacturer New Balance, has unveiled the official kit for Leverkusen’s e-Sports players for the coming season. The jersey is now available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.

Show more
Paulo Sergio mit Carles Martínez
Bayer 04 - 07.08.2026

‘Excellent prospects’ for the new season in Leverkusen and Brazil: Interview with club legend Paulo Sergio

Paulo Sergio and Bayer 04 have enjoyed close ties since the Werkself training camp in his native Brazil last summer. The club legend is in charge of the Bayer 04 Soccer Academy, which opened in the summer of 2025, and he has also been at this year’s training camp in the Weimarer Land. As well as interacting with the many fans who travelled to the camp, the 1994 World Cup winner used the time to plan the next steps for the Academy together with club officials. In an interview with bayer04.de, Sergio spoke about the project’s future development, the upcoming visit by young Academy players to Leverkusen, and plans for the coming months in Germany and Brazil.

Show more
crop_20260806_JS_Trainngslager_Tag5_3197.jpg
Bayer 04 - 06.08.2026

Day 5 blog: Team event and football tennis| Training camp in the Weimarer Land

A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day five (Thursday 6 August) is as follows: The squad have the final open session of the training camp in the morning. After lunch, there will be a team event.

Show more
Trainingsarbeit im Trainingslager im Weimarer Land
Bayer 04 - 05.08.2026

Day 4 blog: Gutiérrez on the pitch – Belocian faces media | Training camp in the Weimarer Land region

A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day four (Wednesday 5 August) is all about training. The day begins with a gruelling open training session – new signing Miguel Gutiérrez also takes part. A second session follows in the afternoon, this time behind closed doors.

Show more
Willkommen in Leverkusen, Miguel Gutiérrez! Erstes Interview mit dem spanischen Neuzugang
Werkself-TV - 05.08.2026

Gutiérrez: “I’m very excited to start with the team”

From Real Madrid to Girona and Napoli, and now to Leverkusen: Left-back Miguel Gutiérrez has signed a contract with Bayer 04 to 2031. In his first interview, the 25-year-old Spaniard talks about his welcome at the training camp and his first encounters with his team-mates, his time at the academy alongside Lucas Vázquez at Real Madrid, and his goals with Bayer 04. He also reveals in an interview with Werkself-TV what sort of player he is and how he intends to help the team...

Show more