“This news makes me very proud. My time at Bayer 04 Leverkusen was very formative for me, it was the most successful period of my life as a player,” emphasised 50-year-old Nowotny. “Back then, we were able to establish the club at the top of German football and also on the European football map. I'm particularly pleased that the honour now coincides with the club's greatest success, winning the 2024 Bundesliga.”
CEO Fernando Carro explained the award for the former Karlsruhe man as “a sign of our gratitude and recognition of his achievements. Jens Nowotny has worn the captain's armband the longest of all Leverkusen captains, a total of eight years. He is an important part of our history and is held in high esteem by our fans. We want to express this by making him an honorary captain.”
Managing director for sport Simon Rolfes justified the appointment of the former Germany international to this elite circle with the special skills that once characterised Nowotny as a player in black and red: “Jens was a world-class defender, incredibly quick, technically adept and strong in tackles. He was also a great leader. In a team with top stars like Lucio, Zé Roberto and Berbatov, he took matters into his own hands and led the way. He has earned this award.”
Nowotny was assistant coach to the Germany U17 team that won the World Cup in Indonesia in December 2023. The 48-time international still demonstrates his close ties to the Werkself today with regular appearances for the Bayer 04 veterans team.
The Bayer 04 honorary captains are Rüdiger Vollborn, Bernd Schneider, Ulf Kirsten, Carsten Ramelow, Simon Rolfes, Stefan Kießling, Lars Bender and Jens Nowotny (from 2024).
It took exactly 60 minutes for the Werkself to take the lead through a perfectly finished counter-attack by Patrik Schick in the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off at Olympiacos. Referring to the meeting in the league phase and the initially squandered opportunities, coach Kasper Hjulmand said afterwards: "I thought: 'Oh no, déjà-vu.'" But after the opening goal, it took just 144 seconds for the Czech to spark more wild celebrations among those in black and red in the Greek cauldron, when Schick nodded in Alejandro Grimaldo's corner. Much to the delight of the Bayer 04 fans, his teammates and his coach, who had warm words for the striker in the aftermath. The Werkself Review.
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Werkself TV shows highlights of the 2-0 win at Olympiacos in the first leg of the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league...
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The Werkself beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off first leg to claim a crucial victory in the Greek capital. After a focused first-half display with a number of presentable chances, Patrik Schick crowned a textbook counter to hand the Werkself the lead on the hour (60’). The Czech rounded off his brace when he headed in from a corner just 144 seconds later. Bayer 04 maintained their lead with aplomb to achieve a good position for the return leg in Leverkusen.
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Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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