The first Bayer 04 players involved in this year's pan-European Championship were the Finns Lukas Hradecky and Joel Pohjanpalo, who was on loan at Union Berlin last season. The Eagle Owls faced Denmark in Copenhagen. However, the first match for Finland in a major football tournament was dominated by a shocking incident on the pitch.
The Danish world-class player Christian Eriksen collapsed a few minutes before the half-time whistle and he had to be resuscitated on the pitch. The midfielder with the Italian champions Inter Milan is now in a stable condition. Eriksen sounded the all clear himself from hospital saying "I feel better." Bayer 04 wish him a full and speedy recovery.
After an interruption of almost two hours, with the Danish players in contact with Eriksen, the game continued. Over the course of the second half, the two Leverkusen players played a decisive role on the pitch at the Parken Stadium: Pohjanpalo headed the opening goal on 59 minutes and a quarter of an hour later Hradecky saved a penalty from Denmark's Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg – to secure the three points. Finland held on to the 1-0 scoreline in the closing minutes. Russia are their next opponents on Wednesday, 16 June (kick-off:15.00 CEST)
Aleksandar Dragovic and Julian Baumgartlinger started the Euro 2020 finals exactly 24 hours after their teammates. The Leverkusen duo were with Austria in Bucharest for the game against Euro newcomers North Macedonia who proved to be a hard nut to crack. Attacking stalwart Goren Pandev equalised on 28 minutes after Austria full-back Stefan Lainer opened the scoring (18'). The two sides went into the break with a surprising 1-1 scoreline.
Dragovic did not reappear for the second half after suffering a cut from an elbow in the first 45. The 30-year-old, who will be playing for Red Star Belgrade next season, was able to enjoy the deserved victory from the sidelines. Michael Gregoritsch (78’) and Mark Arnautovic (89') sealed the first-ever European Championship finals win for Austria.
Good news: Baumgartlinger, sidelined for four months following a cruciate operation at the end of January, came on in added time. The 33-year-old took the captain's armband. A nice moment at the end of a successful Euro 2020 opening match for Austria. Baumi, Drago and Co. are back in action against the Netherlands on Thursday, 17 June (kick-off: 21.00 CEST).
The Czech Republic started the new Euro 2020 week against Scotland with the Werkself centre forward Patrik Schick in the line-up. Only a quarter of an hour had gone in the match in Glasgow when our number 14 had a great chance. But the Scotland keeper David Marshall made the save.
The Bayer 04 striker was clinical shortly before the half-time whistle: Schick converted a cross from the right with an excellent header to open the scoring on 42 minutes. And it got even better on this afternoon! Seven minutes after the restart, Schick saw that Marshall was a long way out of his goal. The Czech front man tried his luck from the halfway line and doubled the scoreline at 2-0 from almost 50 yards out – a stroke of genius.
His intention of, "supporting the team on the pitch with as many goals as possible", has been put into practice early on in the tournament by the Leverkusen forward. And one thing is certain: Schick will again be keen to score against the Croats on Friday, 18 June (kick-off: 18.00 CEST)...
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From special edition jerseys to fan banners, the home game against Mainz 05 was all about the many Bayer 04 fan clubs. Accordingly, a fitting tribute to the long-standing Werkself supporters was not to be missed during half-time in the Bundesliga match. Fernando Carro, CEO, honoured the up to 50-year anniversaries of six fan clubs in front of the coaches' benches at the BayArena.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-1 draw against Mainz 05 on Matchday 24 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
A late goal secured a point for Bayer 04 at home to FSV Mainz 05 in a match that saw the Black and Reds dominant in the second half. Despite lots of possession, the Werkself initially found few gaps and fell behind after 67 minutes when Sheraldo Becker scored in a Mainz counter-attack. In the closing stages, Leverkusen threw everything forward once again and equalised through Jarell Quansah (88').
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It is an expression of solidarity and a tribute to the unique fan culture Under the Cross: Bayer 04 Leverkusen make a special statement with the "50 Years of Fan Clubs" jersey. To mark the founding of the "First Fan Club 1976 Leverkusen", which was followed by many more over the years right up to the present day, the Bundesliga club is commemorating 50 years of passion with this new jersey. Highs and lows, successes celebrated together as well as defeats suffered are manifested in this piece of white fabric, a symbol of unwavering identification with the Werkself.
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