
Empty seats, no support – home games at the BayArena have not been the same experience since the 4-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt in March 2020. The fans are missing, the bond between the Werkself and the North Stand is impossible due to the pandemic. Derby wins against FC Köln could not be celebrated; the wins against Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach were good to watch but there was no explosion in atmosphere like the 4-3 win against BVB in February 2020 due to obvious reasons. This special situation has led to Charles Aránguiz and his teammates sending a direct message to the Werkself fans in a video.
He also used to wear the Werkself shirt: Sam Schreck joined Leverkusen as a promising talent from FC St Pauli in 2016. The then 17-year-old mostly trained with the first team initially but played the majority of his games for the U19s. The midfielder made his debut for the Werkself in the Europa league in the autumn of 2018. Schreck, who is 21 today, moved on to FC Groningen in the Dutch Eredivisie in the summer of 2019. Up to now, he has made 33 appearances for the Green and Whites.
For the sporting managing director Rudi Völler, the Werkself campaign is simply "the best thing we've ever had." In the summer of 2007, Bayer 04 turned a long-standing perceived negative into a core value of our own self-image: The Bundesliga team was now officially known as the Werkself. The management asked themselves: What's so bad about the image of a works club? The answer was: Turn it round and consciously recognise the company and source of the name, Bayer AG. The change of image was an absolute hit.
The Werkself campaign won the marketing award for sports on 29 January 2008 at the twelfth ISPO Sports Sponsorship Congress in Munich. In front of over 1,000 representatives from the sports business scene, Bayer 04 managing director Wolfgang Holzhäuser plus players Bernd Schneider and René Adler received the award on behalf of Bayer Leverkusen Marketing GmbH. Leverkusen made an impression with a cheeky, ingenious and funny Werkself campaign. The campaign won out against a spot from EnBW and Air & Style; Barcelona, Hamburg SV and Borussia Dortmund did not make the first three.

Bayer 04 can go through to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the ninth time tonight, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET) and be in the top 16 clubs in Europe. A good omen: Leverkusen have progressed to the next round after winning the first leg in 20 of their 22 knockout rounds in European competitions to date. For their part, Greek record champions Olympiacos rested several players for last weekend’s league fixture ahead of the play-off second leg at the BayArena and will now do everything in their power to turn the tide with their usual aggressive and high pressing. The discussions on Werkself radio are likely to be just as intense as the battle on the pitch, with commentator Florian Bechholz welcoming honorary captain Stefan Kießling and goalkeeper Mark Flekken. Today’s matchday news.
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With the advantage of the 2-0 first-leg win in the play-offs, the Werkself are looking to book their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League at the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the home game against Olympiacos on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand and goalkeeper Janis Blaswich spoke about the position ahead of the match, the visitors' strength at set-pieces and a personnel issue for the home side.
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With a win in the Greek Super League last weekend, Olympiacos achieved success on the pitch ahead of the UEFA Champions League play-off second leg at Bayer 04 on Tuesday, 24 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET). Coach José Luis Mendilibar rested many of his regular starters.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 0-1 loss against TSG Hoffenheim on the 19th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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