They were just one goal away from a sensational appearance in the final in the second leg away to Manchester United. The friendly will be broadcast live on bayer04.de.
There was an impressive return to the European stage for Celta after a break of ten years during which the club just avoided relegation to the third division. By the year 2000, the Galicians were established in the top third of the Primera Division and they qualified six times for the UEFA Cup between 1998 and 2007 and even made it to the Champions League in 2003/2004 where they beat AC Milan and Ajax Amsterdam in the group stage before losing out to Arsenal in the Round of 16.
The former defender Eduardo Berizzo led Celta back to European competition as coach but he resigned after losing in the semi-finals against Manchester United. He went on to join Champions League participants Sevilla. His successor is a familiar face in the Galician seaport: Juan Carlos Unzué was assistant coach to the then Vigo manager Luis Enrique in 2013/2014 and he followed him to Barcelona where he won the treble of league title, domestic cup and Champions League in his first year as assistant coach. After Enrique resigned from the Catalan club, Unzué returned to the 'Little Celts' as head coach and he will now be looking to achieve a higher finish in the Spanish top-flight than last season's thirteenth place.
The star of the team is central striker Iago Aspas, who scored 19 goals in La Liga last season to finish fourth behind world stars Messi, Suárez and Ronaldo in the top scorers list. At the age of 29, Aspas who – with the exception of a two-year break at Liverpool and Sevilla – has worn the sky blue Celta shirt since he was eight years old and he also made his debut for Spain last autumn.
German fans will know one member of the Vigo squad in Marcelo Diaz. The midfielder saved Hamburg SV from relegation from the top-flight with a last-minute goal from a free kick in the play-off against Karlsruher SC. And this summer he was in the Chile side alongside Charles Aránguiz that reached the final of the Confederations Cup, which ended in defeat against a Germany team including Bernd Leno, Benjamin Henrichs and Julian Brandt.
The whole Werkself squad, including the coaches, will be available to sign autographs after the match. The opening competitive game in the first round of the DFB Cup against Karlsruher SC follows on Friday 11 August.
There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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Bayer 04 have won each of their last five competitive encounters with 1. FC Köln, and it's around seven years since their last defeat in the cathedral city. That said, the hosts are in strong form at home and will make it anything but easy for the Werkself at the RheinEnergieSTADION on Sunday afternoon (kick-off 15:30 CET). The Matchday News.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 2-0 win against Hamburger SV on Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.
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1. FC Köln host Bayer 04 on Sunday 8 November (kick-off 15:30 CET) in the 75th Bundesliga derby between the Rhineland neighbours. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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