Sporting managing director Rudi Völler, who will move on to the shareholders committee at Bayer 04 after the end of the season, said to Bild am Sonntag: "We are definitely finishing third. It's a great success given the difficult situation with lots of injuries. It's a great way to finish – for me too, of course."
Sporting director Simon Rolfes, who takes over the post of sporting managing director from Rudi Völler in the summer: "We've got a team with great potential and we had to be in the Champions League. Everybody has worked and battled hard for that. I'm very proud of each and every one!"
Head coach Gerardo Seoane, who has succeeded in qualifying for the Champions League in his first year as a head coach in the Bundesliga: "We are also very happy for Rudi that we are able to give him a worthy conclusion. We played in bottom gear in the first half. The second half was sensational. We were much more direct going forwards."
Captain Lukas Hradecky: "We've scored more than seventy goals and more than deserve to be in the Champions League. The mentality shown by the team today is impressive. There's something happening here. The captain is proud!"
Key defender Jonathan Tah, who has played under the Bayer Cross for seven years: "We're losing a lot of pressure. It was a season with highs and lows. But we've come through all of that as a team and today we deservedly won in the end."
In addition to former Leverkusen players like Benjamin Henrichs (now at RB Leipzig), Emrehan Gedikli (Trabzonspor) and Sami Hyypiä, Erik Meijer also shared praise via social media. The Dutchman played for the Werkself from 1996 to 1999 and is now working as a Champions League pundit for the pay-TV broadcaster Sky: "Congratulations to everybody. They really deserve it. Great attacking football that everyone wants to watch..."
There were also congratulations from TSV Bayer 04 and the Bayer Giants Leverkusen – and they got in the mood with the Champions League anthem that will again be heard at the BayArena next season: “The Champioooooons…” A similar approach was taken by Kickers Offenbach, who have had a friendship with Bayer 04 for over 40 years: "Congratulations on Champions League qualification and a great 4-2 away win #BayerundderOFC.“
Lucas Alario and Paulinho hit the nail on the head: "Target achieved." That also pleased youngster Iker Bravo: “Yesssssss! Great team, I'm so proud!” There was also recognition from Turkey: “Well done, lads,” praised Joel Pohjanpalo. And Moussa Diaby is already looking forwards: “Champions League – we’re coming!”
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.
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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.
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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.
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After 62 days of preparation, the time has finally come: the Werkself kick off the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season on Sunday (16:00 CEST) with an away match at RB Leipzig. Following a major shake-up over the summer, with eleven players leaving and twelve new signings, initial impressions from the past few weeks have given manager Roberto Pätzold great cause for optimism.
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SV Wehen Wiesbaden undoubtedly envisaged a different start to the new season. After two matchdays, the Hessen side currently sit bottom of the Liga 3 table. On Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), SVWW host the Werkself in the first round of the DFB Pokal at their home ground, the BRITA Arena. It was there, in this very competition a year ago, that the club almost pulled off a massive upset. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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