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.
Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with U19 midfielder Jonah Berghoff ahead of schedule. The Germany U18 international has signed professional terms with the club to 30 June 2030.
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Two months of preparation, five friendlies and the return of a familiar training camp location: After finishing fifth in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga last season, the Werkself will return to training on Tuesday, 23 June. Bayer04.de outlines the key dates in the 2026 summer timetable.
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