Emrehan Gedikli moved under the Bayer Cross when he was just seven years old. The centre-forward went through the ranks at Kurtekotten. His form has progressed so well in recent years that Bayer 04 awarded him his first professional contract at the end of April. The Germany U18 international made his first appearances for the Werkself before signing his contract: Gedikli made three appearances in the Europa League group stage in November and December of last year. That was followed by his debut in the Bundesliga in the final Werkself match of the season at Dortmund (1-3).
The 18-year-old unselfishly thanked the Bender twins after his appearance in the top-flight with the first league match for Gedikli being the last league match in the twins' impressive playing careers: "It's an honour for me to make my Bundesliga debut in such an important game for our club. Thank you Lars and thank you Sven for everything you've given to Bayer 04."
In addition to Gedikli, another player made his Bundesliga debut after being brought through the ranks at Kurtekotten: Niklas Lomb came on in the second half of the 2-2 draw with FSV Mainz 05 in place of the injured number one Lukas Hradecky. The Cologne-born keeper joined the Werkself at the age of 14 in 2008. Lomb made his first-team debut as an 18-year-old in the Europa League but then had to wait 8 years for his first appearance in the Bundesliga. That happened on 13 February: At the age of 27, 6 months and 16 days Lombo secured his place in Bundesliga history. His predecessors as homegrown Bundesliga debutants at Bayer 04: Florian Wirtz, Kai Havertz, Marlon Frey and Benjamin Henrichs.
Reiner Calmund's mission is complete. Around 18 months ago, the long-standing Bayer 04 general manager started the project of 'Calli under 100'. Since then the 72-year-old has lost an in impressive 83 kilos – and after his second operation a few days ago he weighed just 92.1 kilos. Hats off for that achievement, 'Calli'.
As an expression of recognition for the achievements to date as well as another tempting reason to train, the Bayer 04 managing directors Fernando Carro and Rudi Völler presented their predecessor, who worked in various functions at the Werkself from 1976 to 2004, with shirts and training kit. Calmund still feels closely connected to his former employer – and he appeared in good mood in his new Werkself kit after his operation at the University Clinic in Bonn.
Bayer 04 and the 17 other Bundesliga clubs enjoyed a previously unseen level of interest from the fans in front of TV screens. The pay-TV channel Sky established records in their Bundesliga coverage in the 2020/21 season.
An average of 4.7 million viewers watched the matches each weekend. The best figures were on Saturday with around two million viewers per afternoon, which is equivalent to an increase of four per cent. Another 1.3 million viewers watched the top match of the week on Saturday nights with Bayer 04 involved in four of those games last term.
In conclusion, let's take a look into the past and honour a man of the first season in the Bundesliga for Bayer 04. Peter Szech would have been 68 years old on Wednesday. The centre-forward gained promotion to the top-flight with the Werkself in his first season under the Bayer Cross in 1978/79 and he played the full 90 minutes in the first Bundesliga match in the club's history on 11 August 1979. In the following four years he went on to make 91 league appearances for Bayer 04 and scored 22 goals along the way.
Unforgotten to this day is his brace in the 2-1 win in the second leg of the play-off in the 1981/82 season against Kickers Offenbach, which prevented Bayer 04 being relegated from the Bundesliga. Szech ended his successful playing career in 1984. He passed away in 2014 at the age of 60.
The penultimate Bundesliga matchday of the calendar year marks the end of an eventful first half of the season for the Bayer 04 Women. After seven wins, one draw and four defeats from the first twelve games of the season, coach Roberto Pätzold's team can go above Werder Bremen in the table with a win on Friday, 12 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET).
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The third showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 kicks off for the Leverkusen eSports team this Thursday, 11 December (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Red will once again take on six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round, which will take place at this third showdown on 19 December in Cologne. Showdown One winners Bayer 04 will face FC St. Pauli, who won the second showdown last month, among others. The lowdown on first three opponents in this online preliminary round.
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Alejandro Grimaldo, of course! With his late equaliser (88') in the Champions League clash against Newcastle United, the Spaniard rescued a point for the Werkself, who took the lead through an own goal by Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes (13') but went with two goals for the visitors scored by Anthony Gordon (51') and Lewis Miley (74'). It was the third draw for Bayer 04 in the current 2025/26 campaign on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase.
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The Werkself will be looking to continue their run in the Champions League against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 21:00 CET). The two victories without conceding a goal at Benfica (1:0) and Manchester City (2-0) will hopefully be followed by a win at home at the BayArena. Against the English side, who have a player with a Black and Red past in their ranks, the way to victory could be through efficiency in attack and quick transitional play. The latter in particular has recently caused the Magpies problems away from home on the European stage. Fans can also get the stylish matchday sticker for their Sound of Dreams tour pass at the Bayer 04 Fanwelt. The matchday news.
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For the first time ever, Bayer 04 have reached the knockout phase of the UEFA Youth League. At the end of the league phase, the Leverkusen U19s secured a 2-1 home win against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December. Montrell Culbreath scored before half-time and Ferdinand Pohl doubled the lead after the restart in the clash with the English side. The UCL youth competition continues at the beginning of February with the Round of 32, which will be played away from home without a second leg.
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