In the first round of the DFB Cup , the team under head coach Peter Bosz secured a runaway 7-0 win against North Regional League Eintracht Norderstedt. The cup run should continue – and hopefully there will be a repeat of last season when the Werkself reached the final in Berlin. That involves winning in the next round.
The hurdle for the Black and Reds will be decided on Sunday 8 November. At the same time as the Bundesliga home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach (kick-off: 18.00 CET) former Germany international Inka Grings will be drawing the teams on the ARD Sportschau. ‘Das Erste’ channel will be broadcasting from 18.30 CET live. In addition to the 16 first and eleven second division plus two third division and three Regional League teams are still in the competition.
The second round will be played on 22 and 23 December. That match marks the end of an historic year for the Werkself in 2020 against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic – just before Christmas, Lukas Hradecky and Co. will find out their opponents in the next round of the DFB Cup.
2-1 for the Werkself, with just six minutes on the clock: A corner from the left, Arturo Vidal puts the ball in the box. A Kaiserslautern player heads the ball away. But the attempt to clear ends with ball at the feet of Sidney Sam, who fires a volley into the top corner from 20 metres out. The subsequent celebrations were a real explosion of joy.
Sam’s strike to make it 3-1 on 7 November 2010 against the team from the Betzenberg was the ‘Goal of the Month’ on the ARD Sportschau. The player moved to Leverkusen for six months – from Kaiserslautern, where he scored ten goals and provided seven assists in the Bundesliga. A video of the goal is HERE.
At the start of the weekend, the new Werks11 Magazine will land in the letter boxes of Bayer 04 members. As usual, the fans of the Black and Reds will have a comprehensive and exclusive insight of the whole club. That includes Edmond Tapsoba talking about his first months at Bayer 04 and his home country of Burkina Faso. Summer signing Patrik Schick takes a bird’s eye view of his new hometown from the Leverkusener Water Tower.
The new edition of the Werks11 Magazine will be available online at bayer04.de. HERE are all the previous editions including the 2020/21 yearbook free of charge.
The Bayer 04 Women’s team have gone three weeks without a game; the international break and the DFB Cup are now in the past. The focus is now on the coming challenge: The team under head coach Achim Feifel are at home to TSG Hoffenheim on Sunday 8 November (kick-off: 14.00 CET). TSG are in sixth place behind the Werkself Women with a point less than Bayer 04 in fifth spot on eleven points. Everything on the top match at the Performance Centre is available in the ‘Rasenreport’. The online edition is available HERE!
This duo have a combined total of 144 Bundesliga appearances for Bayer 04: André Schürrle, who hung up his boots in the summer, played 65 times for Bayer 04 in the top flight between 2011 and 2013. The 2014 World Cup winner scored 18 goals and provided 13 assists in those games. Robson Ponte, who joined Leverkusen in 1999, made 79 Bundesliga appearances for the Black and Reds (6 goals, 19 assists). In 2005, the Brazilian moved on to Japan, and he later played for Wolfsburg on loan for two years.
The two former players celebrated their birthdays on Friday. Schürrle was 30 and Ponte 44 – Bayer 04 wishes both a very happy belated birthday!
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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