In mild temperatures and occasional sunshine, Charles Aránguiz and his teammates stepped onto the pitch at the BayArena. That included Lukas Hradecky, Joel Pohjanpalo and Jonathan Tah. The Finland duo and the Germany international returned from international duty at the start of the week. Pohjanpalo and Tah did recovery work on Tuesday while goalkeeper Hradecky completed the 'normal' training session with his colleagues.
Peter Bosz and his coaching staff are intensively preparing the Werkself this week for the first round of the DFB Cup. The opponents on Sunday, 13 September (kick-off: 15.30 CET) are North Regional League side Eintracht Norderstedt. The knockout tie will be played in front of 300 spectators at the BayArena.
It will happen on Saturday, 12 September: Bayer 04 are broadcasting "90+4 – Digital kick-off to the 2020/21 season” live from 15.30 CET on YouTube and bayer04.de . We will announce content of the broadcast over the course of the week.
This will include Sven Bender presenting his brother Lars Bender with the trophy for the best goal of last season – and also giving a small speech. You can also win signed Karim Bellarabi, Kerem Demirbay and Nadiem Amiri shirts. So, join in and watch the broadcast on Saturday!
Friedhelm Renno first came to Leverkusen in 1963 when the goalkeeper joined from Arminia Bielefeld. He then played for the Werkself between the sticks for six years. In his penultimate season in Black and Red, Renno celebrated winning the Regional League West with his teammates. Bayer 04 was his last club as a professional player. But the club remained his sporting home after the end of his career: In September 1970, Renno was head coach at the Werkself for nine months. Now he is a representative on the Bayer 04 Council of Elders – and he is 80 today (Tuesday). We wish Friedhelm many happy returns!
In addition to Renno, another former Bayer 04 player celebrates his birthday on 8 September. Herbert Waas, who played for Leverkusen from 1982 to January 1990 (240 Bundesliga appearances/83 goals) and the first Germany international from Leverkusen, is 57. Bayer 04 also wish Herbert many happy returns!
A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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