Legends: Lars Bender - The Bavarian at Bayer 04

In August 2006, Lars played for the second team at 1860 in the Regionalliga Süd for the first time and on 27 November 2006, he made his debut in Bundesliga 2 in a home match against TuS Koblenz. Together, the Benders made it into the national youth teams, brining a European Championship title to Germany for the first time since 1981 with the Germany U19s and were both voted best player of the tournament, a unique honour in the history of this tournament.

twelve years under the cross

Lars Bender signed for Bayer 04 in 2009, putting himself at the service of the Werkself with incredible willingness to run, tactical discipline and an unshakeable determination. Whether in defensive midfield or later as a right-back - he played wherever he was needed. He became a permanent fixture in midfield, shoring up the defence and giving the game structure. As he gained experience, he took on more and more responsibility and eventually became captain of the Werkself. Even though he is not a man of big words, he led the team through his performance and attitude on the pitch. Those qualities, his approachability and his loyalty to our club make him a crowd favourite for many Bayer 04 fans. It was logical he was named honorary captain of the Werkself when his career ended in 2021.

european championships and silver medallist

But Lars' career has also been characterised by setbacks. Injuries repeatedly sidelined him, meaning he "only" played 342 competitive matches in twelve years under the Cross. In these, he scored a total of 27 goals. His performances also put him in the frame for the national team and he made his debut on 4 September 2011 in the match in Poland and made it into the squad for the 2012 European Championships in Ukraine and Poland. He came on as a substitute in the first two group games to help seal wins, he was on the pitch from the start in the third group match against Denmark and finished off a counter-attack by the Germany team to win 2-1. That was his only goal for Germany in his 19 international appearances. Unfortunately, he missed the World Cup in summer of 2014 due to injury. In the autumn of the same year, Lars played his last game for the senior national team.

However, two years later, the DFB has another highlight in store for the Bender twins. Olympic team coach Horst Hrubesch wanted to take them both to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. And when both Bayer 04 and BVB, his brother Sven's club, agreed to release them, the Bender twins experienced an absolute highlight of their career together. Germany only lost in the final to the hosts Brazil on penalties - Lars and Sven returned to Germany with the silver medal.

Over the next five years, Lars was repeatedly set back by injuries. The Benders ended their careers together in the summer of 2021. Lars came on as a substitute in the final minute of his last match in Dortmund and scored a penalty to make the final score 3-1.

Lars‘ second career as a coach

He left the Rhineland, returned to his Bavarian homeland and played alongside his brother for another two years in the ninth-tier Kreisklasse 1 at his former club TSV Brannenburg. In June 2022, Lars becomes assistant coach of the Germany U15 team. One year later, he moved up to the U16 level with this team. After two years with the DFB, he took on his first head coaching position as U17 coach at Spvgg Unterhaching. Since January 2025, Lars has been working as a head coach in men's football for the first time - he coaches Wacker Burghausen in the Regionalliga Bayern.