The German Football Association (DFB) has put Dr. Matthias Jöllenbeck in charge of today’s match. The 34-year-old has officiated in six Bundesliga fixtures this term but the game on matchday 18 is the first one involving the Werkself this term. The only Black and Reds match he has refereed was last season’s goalless draw at TSG Hoffenheim on matchday 28. His assistants at the BayArena are Christof Günsch and Jonas Weickenmeier, Pascal Müller is the VAR match official. We wish them every success.
Werkself LIVE is out again for the first fixture of the year. The matchday magazine is available online free of charge. The Bayer 04 matchday flyer, revamped for this season, contains interesting stats and facts on the encounter between the Werkself and Union Berlin. HERE is the link to the e-paper.
The teams will come onto the pitch a couple of minutes earlier. The reason for that is a minute’s silence in memory of Willibert Kremer who passed away on Christmas Eve. The coach, who took his team to the top flight in 1979, was 82 years old. The Werkself will wear black ribbons today.
The visitors from the capital lost their first two opening fixtures in the second half of the Bundesliga season: 3-1 at RB Leipzig in 2019/20, 2-1 at Augsburg last term. Up to now, only FC St. Pauli have lost the first three games in the second half of the season in the Bundesliga.
Bayer 04 congratulate four Black and Red birthday boys on this Saturday. Wilfried Seifert (73 years old) and the goalkeepers Pascal Zuberbühler (50) and Benedikt Fernandez (36) celebrate their birthdays as does Dr. Karl-Heinrich Dittmar. The 59-year-old has worked for the Werkself since 2002 and he has headed the medical section for many years. The Leverkusen-born doctor was appointed medical director at Bayer 04 in July 2019. Many happy returns.
Ibrahim Maza joined Bayer 04 from Hertha Berlin in the summer of 2025. The youngster from Berlin developed into a difference-maker in his first season with the Werkself. Find out what makes the highly talented player tick in this very personal interview. Among other things, Maza talks about his Algerian-Vietnamese-German home, the role of his family and the importance of Islam for him both in his private life and in football...
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Bayer 04’s Ibrahim Maza is among the three nominees for the Bundesliga’s 2025/26 Rookie of the Season award. Fans have until 23:59 CEST on Thursday, 7 May to cast their votes in the official Bundesliga app.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-0 win at SGS Essen on the 24th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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The Bayer 04 Women have kept their chance of qualifying for the Champions League alive in the Bundesliga run-in. Coach Roberto Pätzold's team won 4-0 at SGS Essen on Sunday afternoon, improving their record from last season to 14 wins this term. With 43 points, the Werkself equalled another record from the 2024/25 season and at the same time reduced the gap to third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt to two points, at least for tonight. Loreen Bender (4’), Kristin Kögel (41’, 68’) and Cornelia Kramer (89’) scored for the Black and Reds, who dominated the game to record their fourth win on the bounce.
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