
The man in the dark blue denim shirt looks into the eyes of readers with a confident and mischievous expression – Florian Wirtz is on the cover of the new Werkself-Magazin. ‘Der Straßenkicker’ (street footballer) is the headline on the report about the 20-year-old German international who has matured into a leader under the Cross this term and not just as a goalscorer of wonderful goals and brilliant assists but also an impressive midfield dynamo. The article on Wirtz is just one of the stories worth reading about the Werkself players: In a big interview, Alejandro Grimaldo reveals many interesting insights, and talks about his improved performances, the influence of diet on his form, his time at Barcelona and explains how his spectacular shooting technique works.“

"A defender who stands out" – this headline is above a portrait of Odilon Kossounou, who has developed brilliantly at the Werkself this season and is currently unavailable to the team due to the Africa Cup of Nations. Edition 45 of the Werkself-Magazin also contains an interview with Werner Wenning who has chaired the shareholders committee of Bayer 04 Fußball GmbH for 14 years. The Opladen-born club official talks about his own role, his great confidence in the management, a handshake with Xabi Alonso as well as the increased value of the club.
The historically successful Hinrunde for Bayer 04 with all the records and impressive numbers is listed in detail as well as other interesting facts from the Black and Red world: Patrik Schick describes his ideal player, Lukas Hradecky reveals which shirt has found pride of place on his living room wall. The upturn for the Leverkusen U19 team is also mentioned in the magazine as is the record to date of the Bayer 04 Women with striker Nikola Karczewska also sharing insights and trends from her home country of Poland. And readers can also learn what is in the memory box that Bayer 04 is taking to the senior citizens homes in the city.
All that and much more, full of fascinating photos as usual, is available as recommended reading for Bayer 04 fans in edition 45 of the Werkself-Magazin. The magazine has already been sent out to members and is now also available online.
Click here for the Werkself-Magazin #45!
The Werkself-Magazin has some new technical functions to make browsing even easier. These functions and how to use them are contained in the PDF document.

Bayer 04 can go through to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the ninth time tonight, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET) and be in the top 16 clubs in Europe. A good omen: Leverkusen have progressed to the next round after winning the first leg in 20 of their 22 knockout rounds in European competitions to date. For their part, Greek record champions Olympiacos rested several players for last weekend’s league fixture ahead of the play-off second leg at the BayArena and will now do everything in their power to turn the tide with their usual aggressive and high pressing. The discussions on Werkself radio are likely to be just as intense as the battle on the pitch, with commentator Florian Bechholz welcoming honorary captain Stefan Kießling and goalkeeper Mark Flekken. Today’s matchday news.
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With the advantage of the 2-0 first-leg win in the play-offs, the Werkself are looking to book their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League at the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the home game against Olympiacos on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand and goalkeeper Janis Blaswich spoke about the position ahead of the match, the visitors' strength at set-pieces and a personnel issue for the home side.
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With a win in the Greek Super League last weekend, Olympiacos achieved success on the pitch ahead of the UEFA Champions League play-off second leg at Bayer 04 on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET). Coach José Luis Mendilibar rested many of his regular starters.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 0-1 loss against TSG Hoffenheim on the 19th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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