
The Werkself are in the last four on the European stage for the fourth time in the club's history. They were knocked out by Palma in the UEFA Cup in 1994/95, the Black and Reds reached the finals of the UEFA Cup in 1987/88 and the Champions League in 2001/02. Bayer 04 are looking for a repeat in the current campaign as sporting managing director Simon Rolfes said after the final whistle in the second leg at Union Saint-Gilloise: "There's just one target and that's the final."
The route to the final in the Europa League in 2022/23 is via AS Roma. The top Italian team beat Feyenoord after extra time in the quarter-finals and they have some famous players in Stephan El Shaarawy, Georginio Wijnaldum and Paulo Dybala. José Mourinho, the current coach at AS Roma, will face one of his former players at Real Madrid in the games against the Werkself: today's Bayer 04 head coach Xabi Alonso. "We want to give our all in the league and in Europe," declared the Spaniard after reaching the semi-finals.

The Werkself play the first leg in Rome on 11 May with the kick-off at 21.00 CEST (ticket information to follow). That is followed a week later by the second leg at the BayArena in Leverkusen, which was sold out after 90 minutes.
The Werkself can also count on the full support of their fans in the Bundesliga: Four of the last five league home games have been sold out. And all the home tickets have been sold for the match against RB Leipzig on Sunday (kick-off: 17.30 CEST). 29,000 fans are expected at the BayArena including 713 from Leipzig.
The Werkself are then away to Union Berlin. The away allocation has been sold out. The following home derby against FC Köln is also a sell-out..
Success on the pitch and the good atmosphere at the BayArena have helped to ensure a rapid increase in membership numbers at Bayer 04 over recent weeks: The threshold of 33,000 members was achieved a few days ago and now there are 1,000 more. Bayer 04 look forward to great support for the season run-in.
Us. For our dream.

Bayer 04 have comfortably reached the DFB Pokal second round thanks to a 4–0 victory away to Liga 3 side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Patrik Schick put the Werkself ahead in the first 45 in the first competitive match under head coach Carles Martínez with debuts for new signings Miguel Gutiérrez, Afonso Moreira and Facundo Medina. After the break, Lucas Vázquez (47'), Nathan Tella (69') and Christian Kofane (79') also found the back of the net.
Show more
Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
Show more
Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
Show more
With the 2026/27 season set to kick off with a DFB Pokal tie away to SV Wehen Wiesbaden (Saturday, 22 August, 13:00 CEST), the squad numbers for two Werkself players have now been confirmed. New signing Afonso Moreira will wear the number 9, which he has already worn in pre-season friendlies. Lucas Vázquez is switching from number 21 to number 17 – the number he wore successfully at Real Madrid for many years.
Show more
Bayer 04 start the 2026/27 season away to third-division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Ahead of the DFB Pokal tie on Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez spoke at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The topics: anticipation, passion, the fans’ support – and the captaincy for the new season.
Show more