At the age of 26, the Jena-born player joined Bayer 04 from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer of 1999. The midfielder went on to make over 260 appearances for the Black and Reds and he developed into a key player and a crowd favourite. Schneider was twice a Bundesliga runner-up with the Werkself (2000 & 2002), played in the 2002 Champions League final and in two DFB Cup finals (2002 & 2009).
‘Schnix’ ended his contract with Bayer 04 at the age of 36 on 26 June 2009. A back injury in April 2008 put an end to his career on the pitch. His contract with the Werkself was due to run to the end of the 2009/10 season.
In the first half of the testimonial, the midfield maestro played for the ‘Schnix All Stars’ and for Bayer 04 in the second 45. The game ended in a 6-5 win for the All Stars. In addition to current players, Schneider’s call was taken up by former teammates including Diego Placente, Michael Ballack, Zé Roberto, Oliver Neuville, Dimitar Berbatov and Ulf Kirsten – and it was an emotional and unforgettable night for ‘Schnix’, the scorer of four goals, together with the fans.
The obligatory substitution on 65 minutes and a full lap of honour in front of the fans was followed after the game by a farewell party in the Premium Lounge at the BayArena that included speeches from Rudi Völler and Wolfgang Holzhäuser plus Reiner Calmund.
The ‘Schnix All Stars’ line-up: Bräutigam (Lehmann 46’) – Bindewald (Gebhardt 27’/Zimmermann 54’), Nowotny, Zivkovic (Schur 61’), Placente (Babic 52’) – Schneider (Beinlich 46’), Ramelow (Brinkmann 61’), Hamann (Ziegner 46’/Ballack 66’), Zé Roberto – Neuville (Berbatov 25’), Bastürk (Kirsten 31’/Rink 58’)
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Due to the last-minute postponement of the Bundesliga match between Hamburg and the Werkself on Tuesday, 13 January, Bayer 04 will reimburse the ticket price to all 3,500 fans who had already travelled to Hamburg as a sign of appreciation. The tickets remain valid for the rescheduled match (date not yet set).
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without centre-back Edmond Tapsoba in the coming weeks. The Burkina Faso international returned to the Werkself from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with a muscle injury.
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The Bundesliga fixture between Hamburger SV and Bayer 04 Leverkusen has been postponed at short notice.
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Bayer 04 face Hamburger SV for the first time in almost eight years. Although the Hanseatic city team are often below par on the road, they are regularly in top form in front of their own fans. In particular, 18-year-old shooting star Luka Vuskovic is proving to be a real bonus for Merlin Polzin's team, both in attack and defence. However, that should not scare the Werkself: Not only was the last defeat against the newly promoted team 17 games ago, but Kasper Hjulmand's players are in with a chance of securing their fifth win in six games against HSV. Today’s matchday news.
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