Bayer 04 kick off the Round of 16 ties: As announced by the DFB this morning, the team under head coach Peter Bosz play Rot-Weiss Essen in the last sixteen on Tuesday 2 February. The kick-off at the Stadion Essen is at 18.30 CET; Sky will broadcast the match. RWE are only the only lower league left in the competition but the Black and Reds cannot afford to underestimate the opponents in the DFB Cup.
The team including top striker Simon Engelmann (18 goals in 20 games) have clocked up 50 out of a possible 60 points in the Regional League West. In the DFB Cup, head coach Christian Neidhart and his players have already knocked out Bundesliga club Arminia Bielefeld (1-0) and top second division team Fortuna Düsseldorf (3-2).
The Werkself reached the Round of 16 with a 7-0 victory over North Regional League Eintracht Norderstedt and a 4-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt.
It’s more than four years since Florian Badstübner last refereed a match involving Bayer 04. The now 29-year-old was in charge of the DFB Cup first round tie against SC Hauenstein in Pirmasens in 2016/17. The Werkself beat the Oberliga side 2-1 with goals scored by Chicharito and Karim Bellarabi. Badstübner showed two yellow cards to the Black and Reds in that match – including one for Tin Jedvaj who, like Bellarabi, is still in the Leverkusen squad today.
The referee from Windsbach bei Nürnberg will be in charge of his second game involving the Werkself on Friday night, 15 January: Badstübner will start the Bundesliga match between FC Union Berlin and Bayer 04 at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei at 20.30 CET.
A special award for the safe pair of hands at the Werkself: Lukas Hradecky has been voted the 2020 Sports Personality of the Year in Finland. The first-choice keeper at Bayer 04, in goal for the ‘Eagle Owls’ since 2010, played the full 90 minutes in all the Bundesliga games in 2020. The congenial Finland shot-stopper will be between the sticks in the summer at the Euros in the first big tournament in the history of the national side.
In recognition of the award for the 31-year-old, Bayer 04 TV has put together a highlights video of his best saves. Hradecky also talks about the award in the video. Congratulations, Lukas!
Left-back Wendell faced 04 questions from Bayer 04 fans this week. The cheerful Brazilian revealed his favourite meal from his home country, which he is unable to cook particularly well as he admits himself. The 27-year-old talks about his Brazilian role models and changes in position at the start of his playing career. HERE is the video.
He started a goalkeeping era at Leverkusen: René Adler joined the youth set-up at Bayer 04 from VfB Leipzig just after the millennium when he was 15. He progressed through the U17s to the reserve team and finally made it to the senior squad in 2003. Adler went on to make 138 Bundesliga appearances for the Werkself in the following nine years. After new signing Bernd Leno took his place in goal in 2011/12, Adler moved on to Hamburg SV. He finished his playing career at FSV Mainz 05 in the summer of 2019. The former Leverkusen player is 36. Happy birthday, René.
In contrast to Adler, the second birthday boy is still playing: Nicolai Jörgensen is currently at top Dutch club Feyenoord and he has scored two goals in the current Eredivisie campaign. The tall centre-forward was at Bayer 04 from 2010 to 2013 where he also went out on loan to a number of other clubs. Jörgensen celebrates his 30th birthday on Friday. Happy birthday.
And finally, we come to two former Leverkusen players from the old days: Like Adler and Jörgensen, Werner Görts is also a year older on this Friday – best birthday wishes. The 79-year-old played for Bayer 04 from 1962 to 1965 in the Oberliga West and the Regional League West. Adam Ledwon, at Leverkusen from January 1998 to June 1999, would have been 47. Sadly, the former Poland international passed away in the summer of 2008.
A disciplined defensive performance in the second leg saw Bayer 04 prevail against Olympiacos in the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26. Thanks to the 2-0 away win in the first leg, the goalless draw at home at the BayArena was enough to ensure progress to the next round. The Black and Reds kept their opponents away from their goal for the best part of 90 minutes.
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Bayer 04 can go through to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the ninth time tonight, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET) and be in the top 16 clubs in Europe. A good omen: Leverkusen have progressed to the next round after winning the first leg in 20 of their 22 knockout rounds in European competitions to date. For their part, Greek record champions Olympiacos rested several players for last weekend’s league fixture ahead of the play-off second leg at the BayArena and will now do everything in their power to turn the tide with their usual aggressive and high pressing. The discussions on Werkself radio are likely to be just as intense as the battle on the pitch, with commentator Florian Bechholz welcoming honorary captain Stefan Kießling and goalkeeper Mark Flekken. Today’s matchday news.
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With the advantage of the 2-0 first-leg win in the play-offs, the Werkself are looking to book their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League at the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the home game against Olympiacos on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand and goalkeeper Janis Blaswich spoke about the position ahead of the match, the visitors' strength at set-pieces and a personnel issue for the home side.
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With a win in the Greek Super League last weekend, Olympiacos achieved success on the pitch ahead of the UEFA Champions League play-off second leg at Bayer 04 on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET). Coach José Luis Mendilibar rested many of his regular starters.
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