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.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-1 win against FC Köln on the 18th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 have secured the services of Serbia U19 international Aleksa Damjanovic for next season. The 17-year-old centre-forward will move from Red Star Belgrade to Leverkusen in the summer on a long-term contract. The 1.98 metre tall striker is regarded as one of the most promising attacking talents in Europe and has recently impressed with strong performances at both first team and youth level. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes and director of football Kim Falkenberg particularly praise his finishing, heading ability and physical presence in the penalty area.
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After seven games without a win, the 2-1 home victory against VfB Stuttgart last weekend provided a real boost for the Kiezkicker and their fans. FC St. Pauli now head to Leverkusen again with plenty of momentum. On Saturday, 14 February (kick-off: 15:30 CET), the Hamburg side face Bayer 04 for the third time this season, with the last game against the Werkself less than a fortnight ago. Despite the defeat in the DFB Pokal quarter-final, coach Alexander Blessin's team can take some positives from that game. The update on our next opponents.
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The Bayer 04 eSports team made a great start to the fifth and final showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26! The Leverkusen players picked up nine points in the first three of six matches in the online preliminary round. Victories against VfL Wolfsburg, Eintracht Braunschweig and SpVgg Greuther Fürth not only put the Black and Reds in a good position to progress to the offline round. Valuable points were also collected for the overall table and direct entry into the final event of the German Club Championship.
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The fifth and final showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 begins for the #B04eSports team this Thursday, 12 February (live on the VBL Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), with the online preliminary round kicking off against VfL Wolfsburg, Eintracht Braunschweig and SpVgg Greuther Fürth. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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