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.
Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
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Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
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Bayer 04 start the 2026/27 season away to third-division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Ahead of the DFB Pokal tie on Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez spoke at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The topics: anticipation, passion, the fans’ support – and the captaincy for the new season.
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After 62 days of preparation, the time has finally come: the Werkself kick off the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season on Sunday (16:00 CEST) with an away match at RB Leipzig. Following a major shake-up over the summer, with eleven players leaving and twelve new signings, initial impressions from the past few weeks have given manager Roberto Pätzold great cause for optimism.
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SV Wehen Wiesbaden undoubtedly envisaged a different start to the new season. After two matchdays, the Hessen side currently sit bottom of the Liga 3 table. On Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), SVWW host the Werkself in the first round of the DFB Pokal at their home ground, the BRITA Arena. It was there, in this very competition a year ago, that the club almost pulled off a massive upset. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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