Bayer 04 headed to the Ruhr area yesterday evening to the team hotel in Essen. Lukas Hradecky and Co. have a communal walk, a short meeting this morning and then lunch.
The circumstances could not be better: All 81,365 tickets for the game at the Signal Iduna Park have been sold so BVB and Bayer 04 meet in front of a full house. 5,294 fans from Leverkusen will be cheering on the Werkself tonight.
The German Football Association (DFB) has appointed Dr Felix Brych as the referee. The 47-year-old has been in charge of 41 games involving the Werkself to date and the last time was a 2-0 away win at Wolfsburg on matchday 27 last season. Brych will be assisted by Mark Borsch and Robert Kempter, Patrick Alt is the fourth official. Have a good game.
A lot has changed on and off the pitch at Borussia Dortmund. Under head coach Edin Terzic, a spirit of optimism developed during the preseason also due in part to the signing of high quality players. BVB have brought in the Germany international players Nico Schlotterbeck, Niklas Süle and Karim Adeyemi. How tonight’s hosts performed in the DFB Cup and the performance and problems they have can be found in the lowdown on our next opponents.
The last draw between the two Bundesliga top teams at the Signal Iduna Park was on 31 January 2009 (1-1). A good omen for the Werkself: Last season the games were won by the away team with an impressive seven goals per match (a 4-3 win for Borussia Dortmund, a 5-2 victory for Bayer 04).
The Werkself matches this season will again be broadcast on Werkself Radio. Cedric Pick and Niko Hartmann will today report live from the Signal Iduna Park. The broadcast starts 30 minutes before kick-off at 18.00 CEST and is available on the Bayer 04 app or at bayer04.de.
Two sevens for Wilhelm ‘Willi’ Haag: The man from the Rhineland Palatinate, who played for the Werkself in 1967 to 1970, today celebrates his 77th birthday. Bayer 04 wish him all the best for the coming year.
The Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog, you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme for day two (Monday, 3 August) centres on two training sessions – one in the morning (open to the public) and one in the early evening (behind closed doors) – at the nearby training grounds. In the afternoon, fans can look forward to a big fan meet-up with club legend Paulo Sergio at Schloss Blankenhain.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended Abdoulaye Faye’s contract by a further year to 30 June 2031. During the 2026/27 season, the talented defender will play for Celta Vigo on loan without an option to buy. The 21-year-old Senegalese is set to feature in La Liga and the UEFA Europa League with last season’s sixth-placed side in Spain.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme on day one (Sunday 2 August) includes a media round with managing director sport Simon Rolfes, free time for the team after the friendly against Rot-Weiss Essen and before an intensive week of training begins, as well as a coffee get-together where CEO Fernando Carro and Rolfes met around 100 fans in the afternoon.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed Kerim Alajbegovic’s transfer to Italian record champions Juventus. The club brought the 18-year-old attacking player back to Leverkusen this summer via a buy-back option, following a season at Red Bull Salzburg. Until his move to Austria, the Bosnia international had been playing for Bayer 04’s Under-19s.
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A warm welcome to the Weimarer Land, Bayer 04! The Werkself moved into their accommodation for this year’s training camp on Saturday evening. In Blankenhain, Thuringia, head coach Carles Martínez’s team have a programme of gruelling training sessions – several of which will be open to fans – and team-building activities lined up for the next six days. We’ll be following the Werkself up close and providing you with exclusive insights, quotes, photos and videos from the training camp.
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