With two and a half weeks to go until the end of the season in Germany's top flight, the DFL, with the support of the video game producer Electronic Arts (EA), has launched the vote for the Team of the Season. Based on official match data from the Bundesliga, the 40 players nominated have all impressed this season. That includes a quintet from Bayer 04 made up of Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, Moussa Diaby, Kerem Demirbay and Patrik Schick.
The vote opened on this Wednesday evening at 19.00 CEST and runs to Sunday 1 May (19.00 CEST). The announcement of the final Team of the Season will be made on Friday 13 May. And the Player of the Season will be announced three days later. This will be decided by votes from the fans for the Team of the Season plus club and pundit votes.
You can vote for the Werkself players here.
A panel will decide which eleven players end up in the team of the season. This is made up of pundits (30% of the vote), Bundesliga legends and selected media partners. In addition, the votes from the fans have a 40% share and 30% is made by the team captains of the 18 Bundesliga clubs.
The eleven best players will be part of the Bundesliga Team of the Season and they will have significantly better values on FIFA 22.
The facial expression fitted in with the beaming sunshine over Leverkusen: The first training session of the week saw Jeremie Frimpong return to the pitch by the BayArena – in football boots and a good mood as usual. While his teammates worked out under head coach Gerardo Seoane, the right-back first greeted all the staff members next to the pitch, had a brief exchange with sporting director Simon Rolfes and then began his individual training routine with fitness coach Daniel Jouvin. That involved passing and sprinting drills.
"His training today was part of the rehab," said head coach Gerardo Seoane after the session. "But he is making good progress so we decided in discussion with the medical staff to bring the player on a bit quicker. It would be desirable for him to have a clean bill of health before the summer break. That would definitely feel good for him."
The 21-year-old Dutchman suffered an ankle injury in the 1-0 home defeat to FC Köln on 13 March. Frimpong underwent a successful operation a few days later under Dr André Morawe at the Aptos Orthoparc clinic in Cologne.
After Lars and Sven Bender risked their necks fighting for Bayer 04 for many years the twins retired from professional football last summer. They enjoy great respect as before in and around Leverkusen thanks to their undying commitment and there permanently honest approach. Reason enough to celebrate the two former Germany internationals on their 33rd birthdays with a review of some of their most successful and emotional moments.
In addition to numerous videos and photos on the social media channels, the new Bayer 04 app features an exciting Bender special of the 11 quiz with interesting questions for Lars and Sven. Test out your knowledge. If you don't have the new app yet, you can download it here.
The former Werkself head coach Roger Schmidt will take over the helm at Benfica. The top Portuguese club today confirmed "fundamental agreement on the appointment," with just formalities left to clear up.
The 55-year-old German coach, in the Leverkusen dugout from July 2014 to March 2017, announced in the middle of February that he would be leaving the top Dutch team PSV Eindhoven at the end of the season. Schmidt takes over from Nelson Verissimo in Lisbon.
It is 35 years ago since a certain Knut Reinhardt joined the Werkself at the tender age of nine. Coming from TuS 05 Quettingen, the midfielder remained under the Bayer Cross for an impressive 14 years and he won the UEFA Cup with the senior team in 1988. The home-grown Leverkusen player moved on to Borussia Dortmund three years after the big win. Reinhardt opted for an unusual path after ending his career as a player in 2001. He became a teacher and is now working at a school in Dortmund. The Hilden-born player today celebrates his 54th birthday – many happy returns from Bayer 04.
A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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