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.
A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
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On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are bringing back Kerim Alajbegovic, who joined Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2025. The Bundesliga club activated the buy-back option in the contract with the Bosnia international, who has enjoyed great success at the Austrian top-flight club since the start of the current season. Alajbegovic moved to Salzburg from the Leverkusen U19s last year. The 1.86-metre forward has signed a five-year contract at Leverkusen with a start date of 1 July 2026.
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Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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