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.
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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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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Carles Martìnez is raring to go. The 42-year-old speaks in his first interview in Leverkusen about the club's development to date and how he wants to build on it. He describes his previous work in France, Kuwait, Qatar and his native Barcelona, his experience in developing young players, and the key steps between now and the start of pre-season training.
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New Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez has arrived in Leverkusen! At midday on Friday, the 42-year-old spoke in a press conference at the BayArena about his philosophy and his aims. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes also discussed the reasons for appointing the former Toulouse boss.
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