Before that, there is a match against the Rhenish neighbours from Bonn. The BayArena and the Sportpark Nord in the former capital of West Germany are some 44 kilometres apart. With the exception of one season in the second division, the 'Rhine Lions’ have never made a permanent impression in professional football. At that time the Werkself were also in the second tier – after 2-2 draw at Leverkusen, the Bayer 04 team trained by Willibert Kremer lost 1-0 in the return match in Bonn. The Werkself ended the season 10th in the second division and were promoted to the Bundesliga two years later. Bonn ended the campaign in 16th position, enough to stay up, but the DFB withdrew their licence due to economic reasons leading to their relegation. They were the first club in German professional football to receive that punishment.
DFB Cup qualification crowns season
BSC with then mainly in the third or fourth divisions. Numerous attempts to return the club to professional football ended in failure. Insolvency proceedings in 2010 led to relegation to the seventh tier state league. Bonn, with its population of 300,000, is the biggest city in Germany never to have had a team in the top flight.
Bayer 04 and BSC are miles apart in terms of football. However, the Rhine Lions return to the Regional League. The club ended last term far above the drop zone with an impressive ninth-placed finish. The season was crowned with a 1-0 win in the Middle Rhine Cup final against Fortuna Köln. That qualifies BSC for this season's DFB Cup.
BSC Coach Zillken also trained Kampl and Castro
The prudent efforts of recent years gives Bonn hope that the club are headed higher up the pyramid. Since July 2014 the team has been managed by Daniel Zillken who is a familiar face from a Leverkusen point of view. The 49-year-old was a coach in the Bayer 04 youth section for eight years. He played a part in bringing through a number of current first team players including Kevin Kampl and Gonzalo Castro. Under Zillken, Bonner SC have returned to the fourth tier within two years.
For the boss and his players the match against the Werkself is an opportunity for fine tuning ahead of the start of the league in ten days. Zillken has had to integrate seven new signings in the pre-season and also compensate for thirteen departures. A particularly heavy blow came a few days ago when striker Lucas Musculus, with 20 league goals last season, signed for league rivals KFC Uerdingen.
Match tickets are available online at bonnticket.de (Full price: 13 euros, concessions: 10 euros) or at the ground on the night.
Standing on the pitch where the Werkself players perform - for many Bayer 04 club members, this wish became reality at this year's Members' kickabout. Around 400 active participants of all ages took the opportunity to experience the BayArena from a new and special perspective. And there was also plenty going on in the stands: The event attracted more than 1,000 visitors in total and provided an atmospheric end to the season.
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Lying third in the Bundesliga, the Werkself made a faltering start in 2026 after the winter break, but gradually rediscovered winning ways and, as in the previous campaign, were among the top 16 in Europe and the top four in the DFB Pokal. In the Bundesliga, the Werkself also remained in the race for Champions League qualification right to the end. However, because setbacks repeatedly crept into the Werkself's performances between good displays and crucial games, it was not quite enough to secure a UCL spot in the end. A season with many ups and downs brought sixth place and qualification for the UEFA Europa League. Part II of the review of the 2025/26 season.
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Rogier Meijer is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen and returning to his native Netherlands: The 44-year-old will take over at Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam on 1 July. Meijer has been part of the Werkself coaching set-up since the start of the 2025/26 season - first as assistant coach to Erik ten Hag, then on Kasper Hjulmand's staff.
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Following the final match of the 2025/26 season, the prevailing feeling was naturally one of disappointment after missing out on qualification for the Champions League. The Werkself finished the Bundesliga in sixth place, meaning they'll start the 2026/27 campaign in the Europa League. "But to talk negatively about everything now because of that would be wrong," stressed captain Robert Andrich following the final game, knowing that the past year at Bayer 04 was marked, more than almost any other, by the start of a new era and the courage to change – and in particular, the belief in a positive direction. Everyone was aware this process would need time. The first part of the 2025/26 season review.
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