It was a first in Leverkusen: Ahead of the game against FC Köln, around 6,000 Bayer 04 supporters formed a guard of honour for the Werkself team bus on Bismarckstraße. The numerous, mainly dressed in red, Bayer 04 fans celebrated the arrival of the Bayer 04 team just before 14.00 CET. There was black and red smoke in the air, banners were unfurled, flags were waved and the team given a thoroughly warm welcome. An emotional moment before such a crucial game for Bayer 04 in the fight to stay up. The Bayer 04 players were clearly impressed: "I only know that sort of support from Brazil," declared Wendell and Julian Brandt was also full of praise: "Compliments to the fans. It was a unique moment," enthused the youngster. "Hats off! The fans took them with us and it was down to them we were able to come back into the game."
Kießling also impressed
Stefan Kießling has been at Bayer 04 since 2006 but the 33 year-old crowd favourite at Leverkusen has never experienced such backing for the Werkself: "The fans were incredible. What happened before the match was pure emotion. I can't really describe it. It affected us all and it gave us a great boost," said the stalwart, who put the Werkself back on track with his goal, in very emotional mood.
"Finally Red" at the BayArena
And the motto "Finally Red" was brought to life in an impressive manner by the Werkself supporters. Two thirds of the BayArena was bathed in red. And it was not just the North Stand that stood out with many other supporters, VIPs and the Bayer 04 management joining in with the "Finally Red" campaign. Everybody stood together in the battle to stay up. In the final pre-match training session around 500 Bayer 04 supporters watched the first half of the session to express their support for Tayfun Korkut's team ahead of the derby.
Schade praise for the fans
With the help of exemplary support from the fans, Bayer 04 were able to turn round the game against FC Köln to dispel any threat of relegation ahead of the last Bundesliga match day of the season. "Our fans have given outstanding support to the team. The only help was standing together, showing support to achieve the target of staying up. Our supporters have demonstrated that in an unusual fashion," said CEO Michael Schade, enthused by the fan campaign.
Bayer 04 takes this opportunity to thank all Werkself fans for their great support in recent weeks and for the great backing ahead of the derby and during the game.
Bayer 04 host 1. FC Köln at the BayArena in the final home game of 2025 . Today’s match on Saturday, 13 December kicks off at 18:30.30 pm. The Werkself are looking for three points against 1. FC Köln, who are without a win in four games but they do have a shooting star in their ranks up front. The Bayer 04 Volunteering Award will be presented at the derby against the club from Cologne and another fan club will be honoured for many years of loyalty under the Cross. The matchday news.
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The German Football Association (DFB) has officially recognised Bayer 04 as a women’s talent support centre. As announced by the DFB, 1 FC Köln, Union Berlin, RB Leipzig and Hamburger SV are also certified as performance or talent support centres from 1 January 2026 in addition to the Werkself.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 0-1 loss at Werder Bremen on the 13th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 Women suffered a setback at the halfway point of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga. In a battle of the chasing pack between the teams in third and fourth, coach Roberto Pätzold's side lost 1-0 at SV Werder Bremen in a physical contest. The result leaves the Werkself on 22 points after 13 matchdays and now four points behind Bremen.
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The Bayer 04 U19s will face Villarreal CF in Spain in the 2025/26 UEFA Youth League round of 16. That was the result of the draw made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday afternoon.
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