He is a renowned knee specialist: Dr. Philipp Ehrenstein has been a consultant at the Helios Clinic in Krefeld with main responsibility for arthroscopic surgery on shoulders and knees as well as ankles. The focus of his work is on the reconstruction of ligament injuries in the knee joint – including anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments as well as meniscus surgery.
After the Helios group was taken over by St. Josefshospital Uerdingen in Krefeld at the start of the year, the Bayer 04 orthopaedic surgeon has now been appointed doctor in charge of the newly founded sports clinic at the hospital. The doctors for the ice hockey Bundesliga team Krefeld Pinguine and the team doctor of the Germany rowing eights team also work there. We wish Philipp Ehrenstein every success in his additional professional challenge.
During his ten years at Leverkusen, Kai Havertz developed into a top international player – and now he can call himself a Champions League finalist. The Aachen-born player joined Bayer 04 in the summer of 2010 as a talented 11-year-old. After a decade in the Werkself shirt plus numerous records at the club and in the Bundesliga, the star striker joined Chelsea last summer.
Havertz has recently flourished under the German coach Thomas Tuchel and last weekend he scored a brace to give Chelsea a 2-0 home win against Fulham. Wednesday night brought the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals. The former Leverkusen player started up front against Real Madrid and crowned his good performance with an assist for Timo Werner who opened the scoring. The London team won the game 2-0 and the first leg in Spain ended all square at 1-1. Havertz and Chelsea now face Manchester City in the Champions League final on 29 May. Congratulations, Kai - now get your hands on the trophy.
Bayer 04 last year produced a 50-minute documentary on the likeable, grounded home-grown player who made the impressive development from a talented lad from Mariadorf into one of the top international players. Germany teammate Tony Kroos, friend and former teammate Julian Brandt, Bayer 04 sporting director Simon Rolfes and the two managing directors Rudi Völler and Fernando Carro look back at special moments with and involving Havertz. HERE is the film.
Another competition, the same aim: The former Bayer 04 goalkeeper Bernd Leno (2011 to 2018) is also looking reach a final on the European stage with Arsenal on Thursday night – in the Europa League. The first leg at Villarreal ended in a narrow 2-1 defeat with the away goal giving the London side a good chance of reaching the final in Gdansk (Poland). The match in London kicks off at 21.00 CEST with RTL Nitro broadcasting the game involving Leno and Co. and is also being being shown live by DAZN. Good luck, Bernd.
Hanno Balitsch and Andreas ‘Zecke’ Neuendorf also used to play for Bayer 04 but have now ended their playing careers. Both decided for a move to the dugout. Last year, the former players together with 23 other participants took part in the 67th coaches course at the DFB and they recently celebrated a successful conclusion to the course.
Midfield enforcer Balitsch, since last year assistant coach with the Germany U20s, made 136 appearances for the Werkself. Neuendorf, now assistant coach at Hertha Berlin, played in 65 games for the Black and Reds. Whole-hearted congratulations from Bayer 04.
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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