It got loud at the BayArena 20 minutes into the Bundesliga home opener for the Werkself against RB Leipzig. Midfielder Kerem Demirbay plucked up courage, unleashed a shot from 25 yards out and put the ball in the back of the RB net with the help of the underside of the bar. A goal from that distance and that angle, with four players in the way the shot? According to the xGoals statistic, which calculates the probability of a goal based on eight criteria, almost impossible! With a probability of only 2.23%, Demirbay's goal was the most difficult to score on matchday two. Hats off...
For the interview of the month with the German Football League (DFL), number one keeper Lukas Hradecky swapped the football for billiard balls. In the VIP entrance to the West Stand, the Finn played Patrick Owomoyela at the pool table. Who put the number eight in the right hole will be revealed in October at bundesliga.de.
Two Brazilians, two Argentinians, one Chilean and most recently one Colombian – the current Werkself squad as a number of South Americans. Since Tita arrived in Leverkusen in 1987, Bayer 04 attracted keen audience from the other side of the equator. For the Werkself fans in the football mad continent, there is now good news: Charles Aránguiz and Co. will soon be live on TV. The Berlin media company OneFootball have acquired the live rights to the Bundesliga for nine Spanish-speaking countries in South America, including Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. The contract is for the 2020/21 season. A similar partnership was agreed with Brazil two weeks ago.
The Day of German Unity on 3 October is a special public holiday in 2020: On the 30th anniversary of reunification there will be a wide range of events across Germany. And Bayer 04 is dedicating a theme week to this turning point in German-German history. A multi-media series on bayer04.de makes it clear: The fall of the Berlin Wall was a lucky break for the Werkself.
Part 1: Opening contribution ‘30 years of reunification: A lucky break for Bayer 04’
Part 2: A final time for the GDR – ‘Scholles’ game for the history books
Part 3: Interview with Reiner Calmund: ‘I had tears in my eyes'
The signing of the former GDR internationals Andreas Thom and Ulf Kirsten definitely count as big success stories. Bayer 04 with general manager Reiner Calmund brought the two attacking players to Leverkusen shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It should have been a trio with Matthias Sammer. "Everything was clear to me that the contract was already signed," explain the now 53-year-old in a recent interview with Bild. "There were then headlines like 'Bayer are buying up the East'. I have to admit it had an effect on me." So he asked Calmund to withdraw the contract. The Leverkusen main man agreed – and Sammer ended up at VfB Stuttgart instead of the Werkself.
Bayer 04 are through to the second round of the DFB Pokal after a 4-0 win at Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday night. The game was paused after only 18 minutes due to a storm over the ground. After a lengthy delay, play resumed and Patrik Schick opened the scoring. Arthur, Christian Kofane and Alejandro Grimaldo made things more comfortable in the second half, as the fourth-tier side had two players sent off.
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There were no goals across 115 minutes of football between Bayer 04 Women and PSV Eindhoven in Friday’s friendly. Roberto Pätzold’s team played two 45-minute periods before an extra 25 minutes two days prior to heading to Rieden for their training camp. Their Dutch opponents were preparing for their UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifier in 12 days.
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The first round of the DFB Pokal takes Bayer 04 to Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday. The amateur club have just gained promotion to the fourth-tier Regionalliga Südwest and kicked off their campaign with two impressive wins. Here’s all you need to know as Erik ten Hag makes his competitive bow as Werkself boss at the WIRmachenDRUCK Arena (kick-off: 6pm CEST).
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After two months preparing for the new season, the Werkself play the first game of the 2025/26 campaign on Friday, 15 August (kick-off: 18:00 CEST) away to SG Sonnenhof Großaspach in the first round of the DFB Pokal. Ahead of the tie against the team newly promoted to the Regional League South West, head coach Erik ten Hag talked about his approach to the knockout game and his soft spot for cup competitions.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has a new Premium Partner in its ranks in Düsseldorf company LumenHaus GmbH. The leading provider of networked home energy solutions has initially agreed a one-year partnership with the Bundesliga runners-up to the end of the 2025/26 season.
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