
The Lower Rhine company DERBYSTAR this morning presented the official match ball for the next Bundesliga campaign. As with this season, two striking colours dominate – next term it is dark blue and orange. The material of the new Bundesliga Brillant APS is identical to its predecessor.

DERBYSTAR has provided the Bundesliga official match ball since 2018/19 and recently agreed a contract extension with the DFL to 2026.
Before the new season in Germany’s top flight kicks off, this summer sees the European Championships played across the continent. As confirmed by the German Football Association (DFB) on Tuesday, Germany coach Joachim Löw will announce his preliminary squad for the tournament on 19 May. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 61-year-old will be able to take 26 players to the Euros this year – three more than usual. Löw will reveal his final squad on 1 June with the opening match being played on 11 June. The first game for Germany is four days later against the World Cup winners France. The other group opponents are Portugal (19 June) and Hungary (23 June).
The long-time Werkself player Michael Ballack (1999 to 2002 and 2010 to 2012) will be the TV pundit on MagentaSport for the European Championships in the summer. The former midfield maestro can call on his expertise gained from 267 Bundesliga appearances plus 98 international caps.

The Telekom sports broadcaster will show all the Euro games live, including ten exclusively. There will be up to ten hours of coverage every day.
And last but not least, we have a Black and Red TV tip for you: Bayer 04 will show all the highlights of the Werkself Bundesliga matches on the club’s YouTube channel free of charge. Click HERE for action from the game at Werder Bremen (0-0).

A disciplined defensive performance in the second leg saw Bayer 04 prevail against Olympiacos in the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26. Thanks to the 2-0 away win in the first leg, the goalless draw at home at the BayArena was enough to ensure progress to the next round. The Black and Reds kept their opponents away from their goal for the best part of 90 minutes.
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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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