Our head coach has now been in post for a year. The Dutchman took over the coaching hot seat from Heiko Herrlich for the second half of the 2018/19 season. The first game in charge of Bayer 04 for the 56-year-old was a home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 19 January 2019 (0-1). Since then there have been 44 other fixtures in the Bundesliga, the Europa and Champions Leagues plus the DFB Cup.
In the second half of last season, the Werkself produced an outstanding comeback to achieve the season's target in the chase for points. For the first time in the season, on the last matchday in the Bundesliga, the Black and Reds jumped up to fourth place in the table away to Hertha Berlin to secure a place in the UEFA Champions League.
The record (with the first match of the second half of the season being played in December 2018): Twelve wins, one draw, five defeats.
For the last home game of the 2018/19 season against Schalke 04, Bayer 04 celebrated the '40 years in the Bundesliga under the Bayer Cross' anniversary for three days. The back story: Bayer 04 finally reached their target on 13 May 1979: A 3-3 draw against Bayer 05 Uerdingen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium saw the team coached by Willibert Kremer secure promotion to Germany's top flight. The Bundesliga adventure started on 11 August 1979 with an away game at Bayern Munich. Bayer 04 have remained in the top division since that day.
Bum-kun Cha, Christoph Daum, Erik Meijer, Jens Nowotny, Bernd Schneider, Zé Roberto and Paulo Sergio joined the promotion heroes from 1979 and many other Bayer 04 All Stars at the event. It was a great party!
The summer of 2019 brought 04 new faces and squad numbers: Kerem Demirbay, Moussa Diaby, Daley Sinkgraven and Nadiem Amiri joined Bayer 04. Their first competitive appearances in black and red:
Back to Salzburger Land: Once again, the Werkself held their summer training camp in Zell am See-Kaprun. Strenuous training sessions and two friendlies against Watford and SD Eibar were on the agenda for the Werkself for a week in July:
The first half of the campaign in this season has been rather up and down for the Werkself. On the one hand, we are happy to remember the outstanding away win at FC Bayern or the three points at home to Schalke, away to Wolfsburg and Düsseldorf. On the other hand, the derby defeat in Cologne still hurts as do the dropped points against Hoffenheim, Werder Bremen and Hertha Berlin… The first half of the season in pictures:
The Werkself had three ties in the DFB Cup in 2019. Memories of the first in February last season are less good – the Werkself were knocked out in the Round of 16 away to FC Heidenheim after a 1-1 draw. The Werkself are looking to do better this season – and are again in the last 16. The route there was via a 4-1 away win in the first round at Alemannia Aachen followed by a 1-0 home win against SC Paderborn in the second round.
The Werkself have certainly travelled a lot this year. The second half of last season saw Peter Bosz and his players travel to Russia to play FK Krasnodar but the last 32 of the Europa League but Bayer 04 were knocked out at that stage. A new season, another competition: The Werkself were back in the Champions League in the summer after two and a half years. The draw put Bayer 04 in Group D with some impressive opponents: Lokomotiv Moscow, Juventus and Atletico Madrid. Impressions:
Bayer 04 supporters again produced some great fan choreography in 2019. The pictures speak for themselves…
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-1 at TSG Hoffenheim on the 3rd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
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Starting with the 2026/27 season, Bayer 04 has created a permanent memorial space at the BayArena. In the upper section of Block A in the southeast corner of the stadium, Werkself fans can honour friends and family members with whom they have shared many special moments connected to Bayer 04. In the coming months, this space will be gradually expanded, in particular with the active support of the fans.
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Bayer 04 has secured a new premium partner in DXC Technology, a leading provider of enterprise technology and innovation. The club has agreed a partnership with DXC running until 30 June 2028. At the heart of the partnership is DXC’s role as an AI integration partner. The company is integrating Bayer 04’s previously separate digital systems into a unified fan journey that begins long before matchday and extends well beyond the stadium visit. As a partner of the women’s team and main sponsor of #B04eSports, DXC will be supporting two promising sections of the club during this period. DXC will also gain significant visibility as the sleeve partner of the women’s team in the DFB Pokal.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have secured a new premium partner in the form of DRIVIO. DRIVIO, already part of the club’s partner portfolio as a reliable car subscription partner for Bayer 04, will continue to support the club in this capacity and, with immediate effect, also join the premium group of companies that cooperate closely with the Werkself. The premium and car subscription partnership between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and DRIVIO will initially run until 30 June 2027.
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“Welcome home” was the message from a visually emotional fan in the direction of Moussa Diaby after Wednesday’s open training session. The French winger had just appeared on the BayArena training ground for the first time in three years following his return to Bayer 04. And before he took time for selfies and autographs, Diaby spoke to the media. Fellow new arrival Guéla Doué was also in action but not with the team for now.
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