Roberto, you played for us for four years. How do you feel returning to your old old stomping ground with Greuther Fürth?
Hilbert: Very good. I'm really looking forward to meeting up with the lads again as well as with all the other people I worked with. I haven't been here for a long while. Of course, the last two seasons at Bayer 04 weren't that easy for me. I had a few injuries and was often sat in the stands. But I have very positive memories of my time at Leverkusen.
Are you still in contact with some of your old team-mates?
Hilbert: Yes, above all Ramazan Özcan, Julian Baumgartlinger and Kevin Volland.
How do you think the Werkself have done in the first half of the campaign and what is your old team capable of this season?
Hilbert: I've seen quite a lot of games involving my old team-mates. And I have to say what the team produced in the second half up to the winter break was brilliant. The team had to sort themselves out with the new coach in the beginning. But now they are consistently playing really good football. They look really well organised. For example, it was impressive the way they turned the game round at Mönchengladbach and went on to clock up a convincing 5-1 win. If Bayer 04 continue in the same way in the second half of the season and everybody stays fit then that will definitely be enough to qualify for Europe next season.
It's not going so well for you in the second division and you're currently next to bottom in the table. What's going wrong?
Hilbert: We've got a very young team. A lot of players need to gain experience. If you start the season with four defeats then it's obviously going to be difficult. But we have shown what we can do at home. Now we have to pick up points way from home. And we want to do that straight away in the first game of the second half of the season away to Arminia Bielefeld. I'm absolutely convinced we can get out of the drop zone and stay up, and even finish mid-table as so many teams are close together on points.
Your coach Damir Buric also used to be at Leverkusen. What do you think makes him stand out?
Hilbert: He's an absolute expert with loads of experience. The coach is an outstanding bloke who talks to the players a lot. He's brought a good atmosphere to the team and he also keeps involving us older players in his decision making.
You're playing at right back for your new team. Are you happy with your performances so far?
Hilbert: I'd like to answer that with yes and no. I was signed to bring stability and experience. I've done pretty well at times in games. But I did notice the effect of not having a club for three months in the summer as that meant I missed the pre-season and wasn't 100 per cent fit. But I'm back on track now and I'll do all I can in the second half of the season to get even stronger.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
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No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
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The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
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The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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