"Ahead of the two games, the target of going through to the next stage of the Champions League appeared to be very difficult. Now we have at least a minimal chance," said the Werkself skipper Lars Bender after the final whistle. The 30-year-old declared: "Our aim has to be to get on the scoreboard relatively quickly and thereby put pressure on the other stadium." Lars means the Wanda Metropolitano where the rivals for second spot, Atletico Madrid, will be entertaining Lokomotiv Moscow. The Spaniards need a win to be certain of finishing above the Werkself.
To be in a position to look at the result of the game, Bayer 04 obviously need a win. "The chance is there and we want to use it," said head coach Peter Bosz. Rudi Völler, sporting managing director, added: "We’re on a run. We want to beat Juventus and produce a great performance."
The flight for the Old Lady will land at Cologne/Bonn Airport on Tuesday afternoon. Unusually: The final pre-match training session will already have taken place. The Juventus coach Sarri decided to complete it before starting the journey to Leverkusen. There will be a press conference at 18.45 CET with the Juve coach and one of his players.
The impressive performances of Charles Aránguiz and Lucas Alario in the game against Schalke on the last matchday have made an impression. The sports journal kicker named the Chilean playmaker and the DFL the Argentine central striker in their teams of the day. The Bild Zeitung and the ARD TV sportschau named both Werkself players. Just deserts as Bayer 04 sporting director Simon Rolfes underlined: "Lucas got on the end of lots of balls – an impressive performance from him. And Charly is a key member of our team and you saw that again."
On the second advent Sunday, the Bayer 04 referees got together for an event at the Lindner Hotel at the BayArena. After a welcome from the former Werkself player Jürgen Gelsdorf, the guest of honour Stefan Kießling talked about one or two encounters with different referees and that raised a number of laughs. Rahel Glombek, director of the referees section at Bayer 04, reported on the first meeting of the referees representatives from the Bundesliga that took place several weeks ago.
The most important message on this entertaining morning before moving on to the communal lunch: The volunteer referees will play an important role at Bayer 04 in the future. Do you want to become a referee at Bayer 04? Then register at info@bayer04.de.
The former Bayer 04 player Ioan Angelo Lupescu today celebrates his 51st birthday. The Rumania international with 74 caps signed for Leverkusen from Dynamo Bucharest after the 1990 World Cup and he went on to play for the Werkself for six years. In 1993, the defender was part of the team that won the DFB Cup. Twice at the World Cup, he made 230 appearances for the Black and Reds scoring three goals and providing 14 assists. Today Lupescu works for UEFA but he did not miss the chance to take part in the club anniversary '40 years Bundesliga under the Bayer Cross'. Bayer 04 wish Ioan a happy birthday.
Most of the games in the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) are played on a Monday night. Only the live games are played on Thursdays – and this week the Bayer 04 e-sports players are on the free TV channel ProSieben Maxx. Kai ‘Deto’ Wollin and Fabian ‘B04_Dubzje’ de Cae play Hertha Berlin on the final matchday of 2019. It all kicks off at 22.15 CET.
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From special edition jerseys to fan banners, the home game against Mainz 05 was all about the many Bayer 04 fan clubs. Accordingly, a fitting tribute to the long-standing Werkself supporters was not to be missed during half-time in the Bundesliga match. Fernando Carro, CEO, honoured the up to 50-year anniversaries of six fan clubs in front of the coaches' benches at the BayArena.
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It is an expression of solidarity and a tribute to the unique fan culture Under the Cross: Bayer 04 Leverkusen make a special statement with the "50 Years of Fan Clubs" jersey. To mark the founding of the "First Fan Club 1976 Leverkusen", which was followed by many more over the years right up to the present day, the Bundesliga club is commemorating 50 years of passion with this new jersey. Highs and lows, successes celebrated together as well as defeats suffered are manifested in this piece of white fabric, a symbol of unwavering identification with the Werkself.
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There’s lots going on at the BayArena today. The home game against FSV Mainz 05 is all about the numerous Bayer 04 fan clubs, whose birth - the founding of the "1. Fanclub 1976 Leverkusen" - dates back 50 years. A number of fan club representatives will be involved in awards, a banner display and a half-time matchday chat, and the Werkself are set to play in a special white fan club jersey. During half-time, Leverkusen mayor Stefan Hebbel and javelin world champion Steffi Nerius will also talk about the Olympic bid involving Leverkusen. Black and Red fans are advised to get to the stadium in good time today. Matchday news.
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The Werkself host Premier League club Arsenal in the Round of 16 first leg in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. The match at the BayArena is on 10/11 March. Read on for information on ticket sales for this fixture.
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