The following dates are confirmed for this summer's pre-season preparations with others to follow and/or subject to minor changes:
Thursday, 5 July:
Return to training (performance tests at the BayArena)
Wednesday, 18 July:
Friendly against SV Roßbach/Verscheid (District League A) (18.00 CET, Sportplatz 'In der Au' in Roßbach/Wied)
Saturday, 21 July:
Friendly against Sportfreunde Siegen (Oberliga) (15 .00 CET, Leimbach Stadium Siegen)
Tuesday, 24 July:
Friendly against Wuppertaler SV (Regional League) (19.00 CET, Stadion am Zoo Wuppertal)
29 July to 5 August:
Training camp in Zell am See-Kaprun
17 to 20 August:
DFB Cup 2018/19, First Round (draw on 8 June)
Sunday, 19 August:
Season launch event including presentation of Werkself 2018/19 squad (at Neulandpark Leverkusen)
24 to 26 August:
Bundesliga 2018/19, matchday 1
Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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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 personal 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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