Bigger, taller, more powerful: There has been a lot of noise at the home of the Werkself in recent days; a new scoreboard has been installed in the South Stand. And it has been visible in its full glory since the middle of the week. To enable all spectators to have a better view of the score, highlights, substitutions etc, the video wall is a level higher on the fourth tier.
Work has also started in the North Stand for the installation of a similarly-sized video wall above the heads of the fans. The new screens are 97 m² bigger than the previous ones from 2009 (68 m²) and also guarantee a much better image quality.
They are undisputed first choices at Real Madrid and true title collectors on top of that. On the penultimate matchday in the Primera Division, Toni Kroos, Dani Carvajal and Co. secured the 34th Spanish league title for the top European club with a 2-1 home win against Villarreal. Both former Werkself players were in the starting eleven.
Right back Carvajal (31 league appearances in 2019/20) made his breakthrough at Leverkusen during a one-year loan from Real Madrid's second team in 2012/13. Since then the Spaniard has made an impressive 278 appearances for Real. With just two appearances less for the Madrid team, midfield maestro Kroos – also during a loan spell – played for Bayer 04 from January 2009 to the summer of 2010 and moved on to Spain from FC Bayern in 2014. Bayer 04 congratulates the two former Werkself players on winning the league title!
The former Leverkusen player André Schürrle has announced the end of his career on Friday afternoon. "On behalf of me and my family, I want to say thank you to everybody who has been part of these phenomenal years. Your support made everything possible!," declared the 2014 World Cup winner on his Instagram channel. "I'm looking forward to new challenges and can hardly wait to start this new chapter," the 29-year-old played for the Black and Reds for two years from the summer of 2011 and he scored 18 goals and provided 13 assists for the Werkself in 65 Bundesliga games. Bayer 04 wish André Schürrle all the best for the future!
Will Bayer 04 head coach Bosz and his Bundesliga colleagues be able to make five substitutions in the 2020/21 campaign? The guardians of the rule book at IFAB have announced that they want to continue with five substitutions instead of three initially up to the summer of 2021 following the trial period during the coronavirus-affected season. Whether this rule will be introduced next season in the individual leagues will be decided by the relevant competition organisation in the particular country – for the Bundesliga that is the German Football League (DFL).
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a loan deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach for Argentinian striker Alejo Sarco. The 20-year-old joins Mönchengladbach with immediate effect for the rest of the season.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. Tonight, 20 January (kick-off: 22:00 local time/21:00 CET), Bayer 04 will not only face a familiar face in Panagiotis Retsos, but also an experienced and successful team in their Greek top-flight opponents. The Olympiacos midfield and forward line in particular are peppered with seasoned veterans from top European clubs - but even they will first have to find solutions against the Werkself defence that has recently performed with aplomb in the UCL. The matchday news.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about anticipation for the game. Werkself player Ibrahim Maza also gave an insight into dealing with the recent setbacks.
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After their first win on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase, Olympiacos are still in with a good chance of reaching the play-offs in the UEFA Champions League. The 2024 UEFA Conference League winners will be looking to go one better in their home match against Bayer 04 this Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), but their stop scorer is unavailable. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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