Due to the coronavirus pandemic, unfortunately there will be no season launch at the BayArena this year. But Bayer 04 have thought up something special for the supporters: On Saturday, 12 September, there will be the digital kick-off for the 2020/21 season. From 15.30 CET, the club will broadcast live on bayer04.de and YouTube – 24 hours before the first match of the season for the Werkself.
In addition to a number of guests, supporters can look forward to entertaining interviews, interesting photos and a prize competition. Who's going to take part? – We will let you know via our club channels over the course of the week.
One day after the kick-off, the Werkself entertain Eintracht Norderstedt at the BayArena. The team from the Hanseatic city won the Hamburg State Cup at the end of August and now meet the Black and Reds in the first round of the DFB Cup on Sunday, 13 September (kick-off: 15.30 CET). Eintracht lost 3-1 to Weiche Flensburg in their opening league fixture at the weekend: There will be more information on the North Regional League side on bayer04.de over the course of the week.
From the first team to the youth teams: In the penultimate friendly ahead of the start of the U19 Bundesliga West season, the most senior Bayer 04 youth side demonstrated their resilience. The Black and Reds entertained the Eintracht Frankfurt U19s at Kurtekotten. The visitors took the lead on 56 minutes but Leverkusen substitute Okan Keskin, with an assist from Luca Wesemann, levelled the scores at 1-1 (89') late on. There is another friendly against Wolfsburg on Saturday, 12 September (kick-off: 14.00 CET). The league kicks off the following week with the Borussia Mönchengladbach U19s visiting the Ulrich Haberland Stadium.
The Leverkusen U17s are also in the final stages of their pre-season. They also played Eintracht Frankfurt in Dillenburg. That match ended in a 4-3 defeat but the coaching duo of Jan Hoepner and Thomas Zdebel were satisfied after the final whistle. After another friendly at Hannover 96, the Bayer 04 U17 team start the new Bundesliga season with an away fixture at Fortuna Köln on 19 September.
A DFB Cup winner is 55! Andreas Thom celebrates his birthday today (7 September). The former player joined Bayer 04 from FC Berlin (now BFC Dynamo) in 1990 and he went on to make an impressive 161 appearances for the Werkself in the Bundesliga up to 1995, scoring 36 goals and providing 41 assists along the way. His biggest success: the DFB Cup win with Bayer 04 in 1993.
And Markus Münch, at Leverkusen from 1994 to 1996, also celebrates his birthday at the start of the week. Markus is 48. The U21 international made 57 top-flight appearances for the Werkself – more than he did for FC Bayern (49), Mönchengladbach (45) and FC Köln (13). Münch’s goal in the ‘relegation final' in May 1996 remains legendary: The defender levelled the scores at 1-1 on 82 minutes in the game against FC Kaiserslautern to secure first division status for the Black and Reds.
Bayer 04 wish the duo: Many happy returns!
Today's news in brief unfortunately ends with a bereavement: Peter Rübenach played for Leverkusen from 1967 to 1969 and he won the Oberliga with the Werkself in 1968. The former Leverkusen player passed away at the end of August at the age of 72. Former Werkself teammates attended his funeral. We send our condolences to his family and friends.
A special afternoon at the Bayer 04 Football Academy autumn camp: At the Liga 20 indoor football centre, in the shadow of the BayArena, two Werkself women’s team players led a training session. Loreen Bender and Selina Ostermeier not only offered the young players advice and support, but also got stuck in themselves.
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The Werkself have reached at least the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal in each of the last three years. The Black-and-Reds would like to make it to the final four of the competition again this season, but to do that they'll need to overcome 1. FC Nürnberg in round two, who travel to the BayArena with momentum following a successful league campaign so far. However, Bayer have a 100 percent record at home in all competitions this season - and have also won six of their last seven home matches in the Pokal. The Matchday News.
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Back at home in the second round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal, Bayer 04 host FC Nürnberg at the BayArena. The match against the current second-placed side in Bundesliga 2 is on Wednesday 28 October at 20:45 CET. Ahead of the game, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about his anticipation of the clash in front of a home crowd. The Spaniard also commented on a number of personnel matters, including Ibrahim Maza and Montrell Culbreath, plus the visitors’ coach, Miroslav Klose.
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Now in their third season under head coach Miroslav Klose, FC Nürnberg are among the promotion contenders in Bundesliga 2. On Wednesday 28 October (kick-off: 20:45 CET), the team currently second in the table are away to Bayer 04 in the second round of the DFB Pokal. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Werkself player Ibrahim Maza has been named in the top ten in the ‘Men’s Young Talent of the Year’ category for 2026. The 20-year-old was at the London Palladium on Monday evening for the 2026 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony. Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, also attended the ceremony. Lamine Yamal of Barcelona was named the winner in the ‘Men’s Young Talent of the Year’ category.
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