That’s a great opportunity for all Bayer 04 fans: The attractive friendly against the four-time European cup winners from Porto, with 31 domestic league titles and 16 cup triumphs to their credit, will be broadcast live at bayer04.de and is also live on Facebook – as was recently the case when the Werkself clocked up a 4-0 win against Koblenz.
Head coach Roger Schmidt and his team will face a tougher challenge this time round. “We know Porto are a top team playing at the highest level. It will be interesting to see who’s further on in the pre-season,” said Kevin Kampl. And his midfield team-mate and Copa America winner Charles Aránguiz, who returned to training this week, added: “Friendlies against top teams like Porto are always helpful.” Bayer 04 fans will be able to see for themselves from 18.00 CET by watching the live stream at bayer04.de and on Facebook.
Bender and Brandt off to Frankfurt on Thursday
For the captain Lars Bender and Julian Brandt it will the last appearance in a Werkself shirt for the next few weeks: Thursday marks the start of the Olympic adventure in Rio for the two players. The Germany squad under coach Horst Hrubesch come together for three days in Frankfurt and fly out from there on Saturday to Brazil.
Bayer 04 have comfortably reached the DFB Pokal second round thanks to a 4–0 victory away to Liga 3 side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Patrik Schick put the Werkself ahead in the first 45 in the first competitive match under head coach Carles Martínez with debuts for new signings Miguel Gutiérrez, Afonso Moreira and Facundo Medina. After the break, Lucas Vázquez (47'), Nathan Tella (69') and Christian Kofane (79') also found the back of the net.
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Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
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Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
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With the 2026/27 season set to kick off with a DFB Pokal tie away to SV Wehen Wiesbaden (Saturday, 22 August, 13:00 CEST), the squad numbers for two Werkself players have now been confirmed. New signing Afonso Moreira will wear the number 9, which he has already worn in pre-season friendlies. Lucas Vázquez is switching from number 21 to number 17 – the number he wore successfully at Real Madrid for many years.
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Bayer 04 start the 2026/27 season away to third-division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Ahead of the DFB Pokal tie on Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez spoke at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The topics: anticipation, passion, the fans’ support – and the captaincy for the new season.
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