Emo­tio­nal farewells and the dawn of a new successful era

"In every ending lies a new beginning" is a well-known saying. This phrase has probably never been more apt at Bayer 04. After winning the Bundesliga in 2023/24 and finishing as runners-up in 2024/25, the summer was the most eventful ever in terms of transfers. Over ten players and the coach, including the coaching staff, left the club. A lot of the heroes of the double-winning side began a new chapter. It was the end of an era. And at the same time the beginning of a new, very exciting and promising chapter for Leverkusen. The Werkself welcomed more than a dozen new arrivals, including experienced title-winners and young talents, to build a new "foundation for a successful team capable of winning titles" under the Bayer Cross, as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. A new spirit, a new hunger, a new story was to be created. Bayer04.de looks back at the first few months of this story and the final act of the preseason.

January: The only German team in the top eight in the UCL

Bayer 04 entered the stage of 2025 on 10 January. Second in the table, four points behind Bayern Munich, they faced Borussia Dortmund on the Bundesliga matchday 16. Nathan Tella created a phenomenal opening scene at BVB: On 25 seconds, he scored the Werkself's earliest goal since 2014 and, thanks in part to a brace from Patrik Schick, the final result was a 3-2 victory. That was followed by the final game of the Hinrunde against Mainz 05 (1-0) and the Rückrunde opener against Borussia Mönchengladbach (3-1). The team travelled to Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on the back of eleven wins in a row but Bayer 04 suffered a 2-1 defeat. A 2-2 draw in the Bundesliga at RB Leipzig and a 2-0 win against Sparta Prague in the UCL followed. That victory saw the Werkself finish the league phase in sixth place - the only German team to progress directly to the UCL Round of 16.

There was also a lot going on in terms of personnel in January: Bayer 04 announced the signing of talented Argentinian striker Alejo Sarco. The Werkself also loaned out the two experienced players Emiliano Buendía (Aston Villa) and Mario Hermoso (AS Roma) until the end of the season. Bayer 04 had to cope with nine-month injury lay-offs for Jeanuel Belocian (torn cruciate) and Martin Terrier (torn Achilles).

February: Pokal thriller against FC Köln rocks the BayArena

After a 3-1 win against TSG Hoffenheim, fans were eagerly anticipating the DFB Pokal quarter-final against FC Köln at the BayArena. However, when the cathedral city team were suddenly 2-0 up after 54 minutes, the evening seemed set to end in great disappointment. Patrik Schick was the first to refuse to accept it: He took the game to extra time with a brace - the leveller at 2-2 came in the sixth minute of stoppage time - and then Victor Boniface (98’) scored to bring the BayArena into a state of ecstasy. Florian Wirtz climbed high onto a podium at the Nordkurve after the final whistle of this blockbuster and thunderous chants of "Uffta, Uffta, Täterä!" echoed through the arena. Derby winners SVB - the Black and Red party was in full swing!

The Bundesliga then continued at a somewhat slower pace: The Black and Reds drew 0-0 with VfL Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich. On a positive note, however, the Werkself did not concede a single shot on goal against the record champions - something no team had managed to do since records started in 2004/05. In addition, Xabi Alonso became the first Bayer 04 coach ever not to lose any of his first six competitive matches against FC Bayern, while Amine Adli celebrated his comeback after a lay-off of around three-and-a-half months. Florian Wirtz, for his part, was honoured with the next Bundesliga Player of the Month award before the match. It was his sixth - no player has ever picked up more. Bayer 04 rounded off February with a convincing 2-0 win at newly promoted Holstein Kiel.

March: Last-minute magic in Stuttgart

An emphatic 4-1 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt was followed by the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 tie at FC Bayern with the Black and Reds losing the game 3-0. Three days later, they suffered their second league defeat of the season against Werder Bremen (0-2), Florian Wirtz was injured in the match and ruled out for the next five weeks. Bayer 04 then lost 2-0 to FC Bayern in the second leg of the UCL Round of 16. The curtain fell on European stage as the Werkself were knocked out of the Champions League. The Black and Reds lost three games in a row for the first time since the summer of 2022.

After the elimination in the UCL, Jonathan Tah was already looking ahead, saying: "Now we're going to Stuttgart and of course we want to win there." And they did, albeit in a more nerve-wracking fashion than they would have liked: There was a roller coaster of emotions at VfB Suttgart with the Werkself twice trailing by two goals. First 2-0 down, then 3-1 behind. Piero Hincapie made it 3-2 - and then it was there again, the familiar last-minute magic! Victor Boniface netted on 89 minutes to make it 3-3 and ‘Mr Laterkusen’ himself, Patrik Schick, scored the final goal in the fourth minute of added time to make it 4-3. A "magic moment", as Xabi Alonso described it afterwards. The Black and Reds reduced the gap to Bayern Munich, who only drew at the same time, from eight to six points. Then it was the international break, and Bayer 04 returned at the end of the month with a commanding 3-1 win against VfL Bochum 1848.

 

April: Painful Pokal exit - league title chances dwindle

One chapter that visibly hurt the team came in the DFB Pokal semi-final. The Werkself lost 2-1 to third-division side Arminia Bielefeld. The mission to retain the title had failed. And the coming weeks closed the door on the Bundesliga once and for all: Bayer 04 only managed to draw with Union Berlin (0-0), on the return of Florian Wirtz, and FC St. Pauli (1-1). The Werkself were unable to capitalise on FC Bayern 2-2 draw with Borussia Dortmund. At the end of April, the Werkself secured a 2-0 victory against FC Augsburg but Bayern Munich also won.

May: Era ends with tearful farewells

At the beginning of May, the Bundesliga title race was over: Bayern Munich drew 3-3 with RB Leipzig, the Werkself shared the points in a 2-2 draw with SC Freiburg as Jonathan Tah made appearance number 400 for Bayer 04. The record champions could no longer be caught. However, Xabi Alonso's team still had one important goal: to remain unbeaten away from home. And they achieved that with a 2-2 draw at Mainz on matchday 34. Bayer 04 thus remained unbeaten on the road in the Bundesliga for two full seasons in a row. No team had ever managed that before. With 69 points, it was also the third-best season in the club's history in terms of points.

Meanwhile, the highly emotional conclusion to the season took place at the BayArena a week earlier on matchday 33 against Borussia Dortmund, when Xabi Alonso and Jonathan Tah, among others, made their last appearance in front of a home crowd. When Alonso officially announced his departure at the end of the season at the pre-match press conference, he said: "I'm proud of what we've achieved. Grateful for what we have experienced together with the fans. These moments are some of the best in my life. My time here will always be an important part of me and my family." Before kick-off in the match against Borussia Dortmund, all the players received their thank-you gifts. The true greatness of that Saturday afternoon came after the final whistle: A banner was unrolled for Tah with the inscription "Came as a talent, left as a double winner. Thank you for over 10 years, Jonah". The team stood in front of the home end in return and Tah grabbed the stadium microphone: "It's not easy for me to find the right words. What we achieved by winning the double, we achieved together. I will never forget you. Thank you for everything!" Tah received thunderous applause and then went up to the Nordkurve. After loud shouts of ‘Xabi’, the Spaniard followed. The two joined in the "Uffta" chant and celebrated in the midst of the fans. They were highly emotional scenes and tearful moments, which the result of the match (2-4) did not effect in any way.

June: "It was an honour to do my best"

It was truly the end of an era, heralded by the departures of Alonso and Tah. That became clear in the coming weeks and months. The most eventful summer in the club's history in terms of transfers was about to begin. And it included the transfer of a player, a ‘football god’, for whom it was particularly difficult to find words of farewell. After five and a half years full of magic, creativity, tireless commitment and so much more Florian Wirtz left the club to join Premier League champions Liverpool. If the fans of Bayer 04 had been allowed to choose, that day would probably never have happened. But now it was here. "Now we have to let him go," said the CEO Fernando Carro wistfully about the fan favourite who had matured into a full professional and seasoned international at Leverkusen and who had provided so many unforgettable moments during his years with the Werkself. Germany's Footballer of the Year 2025 Florian Wirtz bade farewell to Leverkusen as the youngest ever Bayer 04 goalscorer, as the hat-trick scorer on the historic 14 April 2024 and as the player of the (title winning) season with numerous records and top stats.

And he did so with words of gratitude and appreciation: "I would like to thank the people in charge, my team-mates and really all the staff for the great way they treated me every day. And to the fans of Bayer 04, who have driven me and the team on for all these years, I would like to say: It was an honour to give my best for you. I am already looking forward to a sporting reunion."

Alongside Wirtz, another crowd favourite also signed for Liverpool: The cheerful Jeremie Frimpong. "I'll always be a Leverkusen man," said the Dutchman, the whirlwind on the right flank who was always described by his team-mates as the player who entertained the dressing room the most. "This club remains an important part of my personal history and I thank Bayer 04 and the fans for a fantastic time." While Odilon Kossounou also joined Atalanta on a permanent deal after a previous loan spell, the Werkself welcomed the first new signings: Ibrahim Maza arrived from Hertha Berlin, Mark Flekken from Brentford and Axel Tape from Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain. Meanwhile,Tim Oermann (VfL Bochum) and Abdoulaye Faye (BK Häcken) were signed and loaned out.

July: With a new team on the Bayer 04 Brazil Tour

The transfers continued in July: Granit Xhaka joined Premier League newcomers Sunderland, Matej Kovar went out on loan to PSV Eindhoven. Meanwhile, Malik Tillman came to Leverkusen from the Dutch championss. from Liverpool and Christian Kofane from Spanish second division club Albacete Balompié  strengthened the gradually rebuilt squad. Farid Alfa-Ruprecht was signed and loaned out, as were Oermann and Faye.

With the new players in the squad and the new coach Erik ten Hag, a special kind of highlight was on the agenda: The training camp in Brazil - a highlight of Bayer 04's numerous activities in the Brazilian market. The Werkself had already opened its own football academy in São Paulo, at the beginning of the month launched new Portuguese language media channels in the weeks beforehand in order to strengthen its long-standing and special connection to South America's largest country. At the training camp in Rio de Janeiro, the team then spent ten days between Sugar Loaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer and Copacabana working intensively for the new season. Although they lost their first friendly against the CR Flamengo U20s (1-5), the Bayer 04 squad left the Brazilian metropolis with countless positive impressions and insights. At home in Germany, a friendly followed in Bochum that the Werkself won 2-0.

August: The last newcomers arrive - competitive matches begin

There was even more transfer activity in August than in the two previous months: Lukas Hradecky, for example, captain, solid number one, hero, left Bayer 04 after seven years to join AS Monaco. His walk with Xabi Alonso to the home end with the Bundesliga trophy will be remembered forever. The fact he later humbly described this historic and, for many, indescribable moment as an "honour" and "the best moment of my career" once again showed what that player is made of. In the course of his transfer announcement, he recalled: "The fans waved to us. And as they played a big part in winning the title and always stood with us, especially in the bad times, I wanted to give them something back." No sooner said than done: he climbed over the railing, took to the pre-game podium and handed the ultras the trophy to huge cheers. That was the birth of a moment that would truly last for eternity and with which the proud father once again proved that he truly understands the fans' souls.

One by one, the heroes of the double season departed. Amine Adli (AFC Bournemouth), Victor Boniface on loan (Werder Bremen) and Piero Hincapie (Arsenal) also left the squad. "In Leverkusen, I learnt what is possible with hard work and commitment. I will never forget the support of all the Bayer 04 staff and fans," said Hincapie, who for Simon Rolfes was a prime example "of our concept of developing young players into professionals who we can achieve our own goals with and at the same time establish them at the very top of the game." And where the next mainstays left the Leverkusen stage, new protagonists stepped into the light. Janis Blaswich (RB Leipzig), Loïc Badé (Sevilla), Eliesse Ben Seghir (AS Monaco), Ernest Poku (AZ Alkmaar), Ezequiel Fernández (Al-Qadsiah FC), Claudio Echeverri (Manchester City/on loan) and Lucas Vázquez, who won the Champions League five times with Real Madrid, among others, were signed. The following was also new: Robert Andrich was officially given the captaincy as Hradecky's successor - a "huge honour, a huge appreciation" for the midfield dynamo, as he emphasised at the time.

A team reorganised in numerous positions now stood under the Bayer Cross - with just as much hunger to build on those successes as motivation to write their own history. However, the team now needed time to find its feet. Not just at a new club, but in a new league, a new country, a new culture. Friendlies against Fortuna Sittard (2-1) and SC Pisa (3-0) ended in wins, but the one against club world champions Chelsea did not (0-2). Next up was SG Sonnenhof Großaspach. The DFB Pokal first round tie at the regional league club was the first competitive match. The game, which was interrupted by a 40-minute thunderstorm and two sending-offs for the hosts, ended with a win for the Werkself (4-0).

The league opener against TSG Hoffenheim a week later was less successful with a 2-1 defeat.The subsequent 3-3 draw at Werder Bremen, where the Werkself squandered a two-goal lead despite having an extra man, once again caused disappointment - and not just among the players and fans. The club management around Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes, together with the shareholders' committee, decided to end the contract with Erik ten Hag. "Nobody wanted to take this step," emphasised Rolfes at the time. But he realised: "The past few weeks have shown that building a new and successful team with this line-up will not be successful."

September: A new coach - text book free kicks

Ten Hag was followed by Kasper Hjulmand whose last coaching position was with the Danish national team up to the summer of 2024 and who had since worked on a campus project for the Danish Football Association. However, the 53-year-old could not resist the call from Bayer 04. "The campus project was a matter close to my heart and I wasn't really on the market as a coach. Only one club could give me that feeling of wanting to take over a team again - and that was Bayer 04," said Hjulmand at his introduction.

Simon Rolfes saw the Dane as the missing and fitting piece of the jigsaw for the newly formed team: "In the current situation, good teamwork is particularly important. The chemistry has to be right. He fits in with our style of football and also with the people here." However, Hjulmand did not have much time to get to know his new team. But that didn't bother him much: "Of course, not everything can work perfectly straight away. But in the national team, I learnt to always work precisely and efficiently." And indeed, it quickly became apparent that things were looking up. After the events of the summer, calm returned and the team developed a new, stronger team spirit. And results on the pitch followed: Against Eintracht Frankfurt, for example, the team won 3-1 on Hjulmand's debut with nine men. After a draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach (1-1), the team then won 2-1 at St. Pauli. Meanwhile, they hoped for more success in the Champions League: They drew 2-2 at FC Copenhagen to kick off the new UCL season. Alejandro Grimaldo scored the equaliser in the closing stages of the match in what seemed to be the only way he knew: with a direct free-kick. The set-piece maestro curled the ball over the wall and into the net twice against Frankfurt. The bitter pill to swallow in the match, however, was an injury to Exequiel Palacios and he was sidelined for the rest of the year.

October: Hjulmand enables "wheels to mesh more and more"

The first home game of the new UCL season came at the start of October. Against PSV Eindhoven, the Werkself showed dominance, pace and control, but only managed to draw 1-1. It was a different story three days later: the team won at home to Union Berlin with an extremely convincing 2-0 victory. "We played today as if we'd been playing together for many years," said goalscorer Ernest Poku afterwards. And Mark Flekken also recognised this newly formed team was getting better and better: "You can tell the self-confidence in the team is growing, that the bonds are growing." Two weeks later, after the international break, the team won 4-3 at Mainz and Jonas Hofmann summed up the feeling at the time as follows: "It feels like the wheels are meshing more and more."

There were also victories this month against SC Freiburg (2-0) and in the second round of the DFB Pokal at SC Paderborn 07, with that evening in East Westphalia offering everything that once made Laterkusen a legend: Grimaldo put a free-kick into the net as usual, but then his team conceded an equaliser in the 90th minute and went behind shortly after the start of extra time. Was this the end of the Pokal run? By no means! Jarell Quansah (105+1’), Ibrahim Maza (120+2’) and Aleix Garcia (120+4’), who had been in impressive form for weeks, scored three goals in stoppage time to send Laterkusen through to the Round of 16. The only defeat in October - and the first for Kasper Hjulmand - came against reigning UCL champions Paris Saint-Germain. The French treble winners and Club World Cup finalists full of stars inflicted a 7-2 defeat.

The stories on the personnel front for this month: Jeanuel Belocian (against Union) and Martin Terrier (against Mainz, including a goal) both made their comeback after nine-month injury lay-offs. Patrik Schick (against Freiburg) returned after a month out injured. Exequiel Palacios extended his contract with Bayer 04 for a further two years until 2030, while Ezequiel Fernández and Axel Tape suffered injuries. Lucas Vázquez and Nathan Tella were also been unavailable in recent weeks.

November: All-time record run ends - goal fest against Heidenheim

At the beginning of October, a thinned-out squad made the journey to Munich. Unfortunately, two runs ended at the Allianz Arena. Firstly, the Werkself lost a Bundesliga match against FC Bayern for the first time in three years. Secondly, and much more importantly, the 3-0 loss on 1 November marked the end of a historic record run of 37 league away games unbeaten. It also became historic a week later - this time in a positive sense: After the Werkself celebrated their first UCL victory of the season at Benfica during the week (1-0), the team thrilled the fans at the BayArena with a runaway 6-0 win against FC Heidenheim, which brought countless stories, records and debuts. Among others, the player who was in outstanding form in those weeks and was later named Rookie of the Month for November Ibrahim Maza netted his first professional brace. In addition, the Werkself have never won a home game in the top flight by more goals.

The goal fest against Heidenheim was followed by an international break, which was ill-timed given the team’s form. But they continued with the same vigour afterwards. The Werkself won 3-1 in Wolfsburg before proving themselves on Europe's biggest stage three days later: The Black and Reds impressed with courage and class at Manchester City as they secured a 2-0 win. A happy Kasper Hjulmand explained afterwards: "I told the lads I'm very proud of them. This team has so much potential, such great character. It's a night we'll remember for a long time." A few days later, the first of two games against Borussia Dortmund, consisting of a Bundesliga fixture and the DFB Pokal Round of 16 tie, was scheduled. Despite a battling performance, Bayer 04 lost 2-11 in the evenly-matched league encounter.

December: Top match wins and the "best goal" in derby win

Three days later, Bayer 04 won the DFB Pokal tie 1-0 and progressed to the quarter-finals, where St. Pauli await next year. The successful BVB result was followed by a 2-0 defeat against Augsburg. The busy end to the year, with seven games in 21 days, continued with the UCL clash against Newcastle United (2-2). In the final home game of the year, the Werkself then won 2-0 against FC Köln. Coaches, team-mates, fans, commentators and media representatives were all astonished when Martin Terrier unleashed his scorpion kick in the 66th minute to give the Werkself the lead. The Frenchman had chosen the perfect moment to score what he described as the "most beautiful goal of my career". After all, it was his goal that broke the deadlock and paved the way for the derby victory. Goalscorer number two, Robert Andrich, called Terrier's shot an "amazing goal" afterwards, coach Kasper Hjulmand a "magic moment". And Werkself Radio commentator Niko Hartmann even lost all restraint at this stroke of genius: "A brilliant goal! With his heel! Volley! The goal of the year at the BayArena! And in the derby against FC Köln!" he shouted with fervour and passion.

However, the final chapter of the year had not yet been written, as the Werkself still had one game to go. At the end of the year at RB Leipzig, the team celebrated the perfect end to these eventful twelve months with a 3-1 win. Martin Terrier scored again, netting in two consecutive league games for the first time, and Patrik Schick also scored, going ahead of Dimitar Berbatov in becoming Leverkusen's sole foreign record goalscorer. The final goal was scored by an 18-year-old: Montrell Culbreath from the U19s celebrated his professional debut and rounded it off with the final goal. He had thus given himself the "biggest Christmas present ever", as he emphasised afterwards. Culbreath is now the fourth youngest Leverkusen Bundesliga goalscorer of all time. Also pleasing: Axel Tape, Lucas Vázquez and Ezequiel Fernández celebrated their comebacks after several weeks out injured.

The end of the year brought with it many wonderful stories. And one of them took us back to the beginning of this journey: Just like at the start in Dortmund in January, when Nathan Tella's 25-second goal opened the year in style and Bayer 04 inflicted the first home defeat of the season on BVB, it was Leipzig who had to admit defeat to the Werkself for the first time at their own stadium at the end of these twelve months. Bayer 04 ended the year in third place with 29 points and 33 goals, currently the second-best attack. Kasper Hjulmand ended the year with a Bundesliga points average of 2.15 - currently the second-best figure for a Bayer 04 coach, with only Xabi Alonso achieving an even higher mark of 2.16. Hjulmand's final words after the win in Leipzig were, as usual, directed at the team: "I'm very, very proud of what the team has achieved in recent months. We are doing very well - in all three competitions." Simon Rolfes also had a positive outlook: "The first six months of 'getting to know each other' are behind us. Now we have to push the team to its limits and be really successful. Our ambitions and ambition will also be high in the new year."

Twelve months now lie behind Bayer 04, which were characterised by emotional farewells, the courage to change, trust in development, the end of historic records and the beginning of new stories. And, in particular, the belief in a common path, with the conviction that success is not always straightforward - but above all comes from patience and solidarity.

Here's to a spectacular 2026, dear Bayer 04 fans!