Lucas Alario has impressed Bayer 04 fans: In last weekend's home win against Augsburg, our number 13 scored a brilliant goal with a back-heel on 81 minutes. With an assist from Robert Andrich, The Argentinian forward put the ball through the legs of the FCA keeper Rafal Gikiewicz to make it 5-1 and his goal has been voted Goal of the Month for January, presented by like2drive. Congratulations. Alario's impressive feat can be seen again HERE.
Willibert Kremer, the coach of the Werkself side promoted in 1979, passed away on Christmas Eve last year at the age of 82. Invited guests paid their last respects to the legendary Bayer 04 coach this morning at the VIP marquee at SC Victoria Köln where Kremer was a player and later also coach. The Bayer 04 managing directors Fernando Carro and Rudi Völler were there along with former general manager Reiner Calmund and several players from the promotion team of 1979 who were coached by Kremer. Rest in peace, Willibert.
The Werkself wish many happy returns to three birthday boys from the Black and Red family today.
First up is Sidney Sam who is 34 today. The former winger made 124 appearances for the Werkself between 2010 and 2014 scoring 36 goals during his time at Leverkusen. The left-footer ended his playing career last summer after spells at FC Schalke 04, Darmstadt 98, VfL Bochum, SCR Altach (Austria) and Antalyaspor (Turkey). At the end of his career, Sam was a guest on the Werkself podcast. Episode number 39 with the Kiel-born player is available free of charge at any time on the usual podcast platforms.
Many happy returns also to Jurica Vranješ on his 42nd birthday. The former Croatia international joined Bayer 04 Leverkusen from his hometown club NK Osijek at the turn-of-the-century and in 2001 he was part of our #RoadToGlasgow team. Vranješ moved on to VfB Stuttgart after three years with the Black and Reds.
Bayer 04 also wish a happy birthday to Dominic Kohr who is 28 today. The holding midfielder played for the youth teams at Leverkusen from the age of 15 and went on to make 69 appearances for the senior side and 33 for the second team. The midfielder is currently at Mainz 05 on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt.
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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A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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A rematch in Athens: On Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), the Werkself face Greek double winners Olympiacos for the second time this season at the Karaiskakis Stadium. After the encounter in the league phase, it's now time for the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-offs. Ahead of the game, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about how his side will approach the clash, while captain Robert Andrich explained how the team will try to dampen the atmosphere in the stadium tomorrow.
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With the much-celebrated 2-1 derby win against 1. FC Köln, the Bayer 04 Women underlined their credentials as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. Anyone wishing to support the Werkself in the stadium in the race for third place can now purchase tickets for the home match against FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Tickets are also still available for the upcoming clash against TSG Hoffenheim at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 22 February. The latest information at a glance.
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Let's give it our all one more time! Today, Tuesday 17 February (live on the VBL Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the #B04eSports team play the remaining three preliminary round matches of the fifth and final showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. The Leverkusen console pros go up against 1. FC Nürnberg, 1. FC Magdeburg and Bayern Munich, aiming to secure their place in the offline knockout round and pick up valuable points for the overall table and the battle to get into the final event for the German Club Championship. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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