The DFB have appointed Felix Zwayer to referee the game. The 40-year-old has overseen 28 previous Leverkusen fixtures, producing 15 wins, five draws and eight defeats. His assistants are Rafael Foltyn and Marco Achmüller. Sören Storks is the VAR.
For everyone who can’t be cheering on the team from the round today, they can tune into the Werkself Radio as usual. It’s available on bayer04.de and in the new Bayer 04 app.
The Bayer 04 fan support has all you need to know on the game at the Ruhrstadion. The away seats can only be reached via the signposted visitor entrance on Castroper Straße. You cannot reach the away seating area via another entrance. Glass is also banned in and around the stadium for Bochum home games. More info HERE.
The oldest of today’s birthday boys is Oliver Page. The former central defender came through the academy to the first team in 1989/90 and made six Bundesliga appearances for the Werkself. Page is now coach of the U19s at TSV Steinbach.
Junior Fernandes turns 34 on Sunday. The left-back moved to Leverkusen in summer 2012 from Club Universidad de Chile. He made 13 appearances in his one and only season for Bayer 04. The 20-time Chile international then moved to Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia. Fernandes is back in his homeland as of this season.
The third man celebrating today is Ayman Azhil. The central midfielder has also come through the Leverkusen youth system, playing for Bayer 04 in the U17 and U19 Bundesliga. The Düsseldorf native is now on loan at Waalwijk in the Netherlands and turns 21 today. Happy birthday to you all!
With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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A successful fourth preseason friendly ahead of the start of the training camp: The Werkself secured a 3-0 victory over Rot-Weiss Essen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The goals in what was a commanding and dominant performance by Leverkusen from the outset were scored by Ibrahim Maza (8'), Patrik Schick from the penalty spot (23’) and, in the second half, Montrell Culbreath with a header (79’). The team set off for their training camp in Blankenhain in the Weimarer Land region after the game.
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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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You have voted – your ‘Team of the Quarter-Century’ has been decided! This historic selection, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, features honorary captains, Bundesliga champions, double winners and Champions League finalists. Edmond Tapsoba is the only player from the current Bayer 04 squad to make it into the starting XI, while his team-mate Patrik Schick is on the bench. Simon Rolfes, the current managing director sport, is also in the lie-up. A truly special team that brings together a quarter of a century of Bayer 04 history – and has left a decisive mark on the club.
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Following Patrik Schick, Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Kerim Alajbegovic earlier this week, the next World Cup participant is back on the training ground in Leverkusen: On Thursday 30 July, Malik Tillman rejoined the squad, completing his first training session under head coach Carles Martínez.
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