Bayer 04 have brought through the next Germany international in Florian Wirtz. The 5 feet 9 midfielder recently made his debut for Germany under new coach Hansi Flick who was appointed in August.
His predecessor Joachim Löw was the Germany coach for 15 years – and he used to regularly include Black and Reds in his line-ups. During the Löw era, a total of 17 Werkself players wore the Germany shirt – including members of the current Bayer 04 squad such as Jonathan Tah, Karim Bellarabi and Nadiem Amiri as well as former players like honorary captain Lars Bender, Toni Kroos and Gonzalo Castro.
Wirtz is the 34th Leverkusen player to make his debut for Germany. The history of Bayer 04 and the German national side goes back to the 1980s.
The first Bayer 04 player to appear for the senior Germany team was Herbert Waas. The centre-forward wore the Leverkusen shirt for eight years – between 1982 and 1990. The first full international came in June 1983 under the then Germany coach Jupp Derwall.
Franz Beckenbauer, Berti Vogts, Erich Ribbeck and Rudi Völler also selected Werkself players regularly over the course of the following years. Here is the list of Germany debutants who were at Bayer 04 when they played their first full international:
2021: Florian Wirtz
2019: Nadiem Amiri
2018: Kai Havertz, Bernd Leno, Jonathan Tah, Julian Brandt
2016: Benjamin Henrichs
2014: Karim Bellarabi, Sidney Sam
2013: Philipp Wollscheid
2011: Lars Bender
2010: Toni Kroos, Stefan Reinartz
2008: René Adler
2007: Stefan Kießling, Gonzalo Castro, Simon Rolfes
2006: Manuel Friedrich
2003: Hanno Balitsch
2002: Thomas Brdaric
1999: Bernd Schneider
1998: Carsten Ramelow
1998: Paulo Rink, Stefan Beinlich
1997: Jens Nowotny
1992: Ulf Kirsten, Heiko Scholz, Christian Wörns
1990: Andreas Thom
1989: Alois Reinhardt
1988: Knut Reinhardt
1986: Thomas Hörster
1984: Christian Schreier
1983: Herbert Waas
It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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