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.
An overview of current ticket sales for Bayer 04 home and away matches in the 2026/27 season.
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Three games, three wins: Bayer 04 secured a 2–0 victory at Greek Cup winners OFI Crete with Jonas Hofmann scoring both goals at the Pankritio Stadium, right on the Mediterranean coast (35’, 38’). As a result, the Werkself have temporarily taken over top spot in the table on Matchday 3 of the league phase of the UEFA Europa League.
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'40 Years Across Europe' - and for the first time ever, Bayer 04 are travelling to Greece's biggest island for a European clash. There they'll take on OFI Crete - full name Omilos Filathlon Irakleiou (‘Association of Sports Friends of Heraklion’) - on Matchday 3 of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League league phase. The meeting with the Greek Cup winners kicks off at 18:45 CEST on Thursday 22 October at the Pankritio. We’ll bring you all the latest updates from the trip here…
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Two games – two wins: Bayer 04 have picked up maximum points from their two matches so far in the league phase of the UEFA Europa League. What's more, of their previous 14 UEL matches, Bayer 04 have lost just one. Away to OFI Crete, Carles Martínez’s side are looking to add another successful performance on the European stage to their string of impressive displays. The Greeks, for their part, have been waiting four matches for a win, but Leverkusen should be on their guard: OFI’s most recent victory came against a German side. Today's matchday news.
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Ahead of Bayer 04's Europa League match away to OFI Crete in Greece, defender Jarell Quansah spoke to Werkself-TV...
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