Following the 4-1 home win against Eintracht Frankfurt in the second round of the DFB Cup, the Werkself will face fourth division Rot-Weiss Essen in the Round of 16. The knockout match in the Ruhr Valley will be played at the start of February but it is already certain that Jonathan Tah will be sidelined.
The central defender was sent off in the cup tie against Eintracht Frankfurt for an alleged professional foul on André Silva on 73 minutes. The DFB announced on Thursday that the sports tribunal have suspended the Germany international for two cup matches. That means Tah would also miss a potential quarter-final. Bayer 04 have accepted the decision.
Ahead of the forthcoming Bundesliga top match between Bayer 04 and FC Union Berlin, head coach Urs Fischer paid a big compliment to the Werkself. “They are a team defined by possession and they also keep trying to find answers using the ball but they also play through the lines with long balls over the top in their efforts to cause problems. They’ve got pace on the wings and creativity in the middle of the park,” said the Swiss in highlighting the strengths of the forthcoming opponents. "So it will be a great challenge for us.” Fischer has to manage without injured forwards Max Kruse, Anthony Ujah and the former Leverkusen player Joel ‘Danger’ Pohjanpalo.
The clash between the teams in fifth and third is on Friday night, 15 January (kick-off: 20.30 CET) at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Our Werks11 Radio starts broadcasting as usual 30 minutes before kick-off with the commentator duo of Cedric Pick/Niko Hartmann at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app. The top match is also being broadcast by the streaming service DAZN.
The Bulgarian top-flight club SFK Etar can look forward to the arrival of a VIP in the coaching staff: Dimitar Berbatov, former Bayer 04 player, is set to help the bottom-placed club in the top division of his home country avoid relegation. The Bulgarian international with 78 caps will be able to make use of his own expertise – 'Berbo' will be working at Etar coaching the strikers.
The now 39-year-old ended his successful career as a player in the spring of 2018 with his three English league titles with Manchester United being just several of many highlights. Berbatov spent his longest time at Bayer 04. He made 154 Bundesliga appearances between January 2001 and June 2006. His 69 goals and 32 assists underlined his international quality that the Bulgarian went on to display at Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. Bayer 04 wish 'Berbo' great success in the dugout.
The next Black and Red publication went to press in the middle of the week. Edition 29 of the Werks11 Magazin again provides an entertaining mix of current and historic themes, interesting interviews, profiles and much more. Bayer 04 Club members will receive the print version in the next few days at home through the post.
Under the heading 'With the cross on the chest' this time is dedicated to Dietmar Demuth. The former defender made history in the Werkself shirt…
In the summer of 1977, Dietmar Demuth not only made his debut in the Bundesliga but so did his club FC St. Pauli. Born in Querfurt, he established a place in the defence and became an indispensable part of the Hamburg club with 34 90-minute appearances. Unfortunately he was unable to prevent St Pauli going straight down again.
Demuth stayed in Hamburg for the following season in the second division and only missed two games. Bayer 04, second division rivals of the North German club in that season, became aware of the defender and signed him up. As the Werkself ended that season – like FC St. Pauli a year before – with promotion to the top-flight, Demuth also played in the first Bundesliga game for Bayer 04. And he scored an historic goal in that match.
In the opening match at Bayern Munich on 11 August 1979, the newly promoted club from the Rhineland were already 3-0 down when they were awarded a penalty just after the hour mark. Demuth picked up the ball, placed it on the spot – and put it in the back of the net for a very special goal. The strike from the penalty spot was the first Bundesliga goal in the history of Bayer 04. Demuth stayed at Leverkusen for four years before moving on to Kickers Offenbach in 1984 and then back to FC St. Pauli.
Since September of last year, the former player has been working as head coach at the Berlin fifth division team CFC Hertha 06; the former Leverkusen player was 66 on Thursday. Bayer 04 wish him a very happy birthday.
Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
Show more
Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
Show more
High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
Show more
The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
Show more
They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
Show more
