
The recent Euros and their effect on German football, youth development at the clubs, financial models in competition with international rivals but, above all, the targets and mutual expectations of the Bundesliga 2 clubs Fortuna Düsseldorf and FC Köln and the top-flight sides Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer 04 were the most important of many subjects on an informative and entertaining evening. Under the guidance of RP editors Jannik Sorgatz and Gianni Costa, Fortuna Düsseldorf’s Klaus Allofs, FC Köln’s Christian Keller, Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Roland Virkus and Simon Rolfes took part in a roundtable discussion dealing with lots of matters succinctly but also with humour.
To what extent predictions and expectations can be met will start to be evident on Friday in the Bundesliga when Borussia Mönchengladbach entertain the champions of Germany, DFB Pokal and Supercup winners Bayer 04 in the first game of the new league campaign with the kick off at 20.30 CEST.
Photo: Andreas Bretz

Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career working as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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Bayer 04 host top French club Marseille at the BayArena on matchday four in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League group stage. The match kicks off on Thursday 5 November at 21:00 CET. The latest information on ticket sales.
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The BAYER 04 HILFT Day is celebrating an anniversary: for the tenth year running, a large number of employees of the Bundesliga club have been getting involved in a community project in Leverkusen and the surrounding area. Following the refurbishment of the city library last year, this time around some 70 staff members rolled up their sleeves to help out at the Bunker Youth Centre in Leverkusen-Wiesdorf. With the support of the Lebenshilfe workshops in Leverkusen and partner Coca-Cola, a rubber football pitch was laid, a Bayer 04-style lounge was created and other projects were carried out. Werkself players and coaching staff also gave their all.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen and sponsors club partner NRG24 are continuing their partnership, which has been in place since the summer of 2023. The Bundesliga football club and the energy consultancy firm have extended their successful partnership until 30 June 2027.
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