As ever, there’s exciting facts and figures on the clash between Leverkusen and Mainz in the matchday Werkself LIVE flyer. The special feature of the new publication is that you have everything you need to know about the match on one page, and on the other there’s a poster of our teenage sensation Florian Wirtz. So, you’re best set for the game at the BayArena. Click HERE for the ePaper (in German).
The DFB has appointed Bastian Dankert to referee the game against Mainz. He’s assisted by Rene Rohde and Marcel Unger, with Harm Osmers acting as VAR. The 41-year-old from Rostock oversaw last season’s game away at Mainz, with Lucas Alario scoring the only goal of the day.
While spectators should never arrive late at the BayArena when the Werkself are in action, that’s especially the case this Saturday. Seven of the 15 goals Gerardo Seoane’s side have scored in the league this season have come in the opening quarter of an hour.
That total is a new record in the Bundesliga, and Seoane has said he wants to build on that against the 05ers: “It’ll be about being active from the first minute.”
Ze Elias came to the BayArena in summer 1996 from Brazilian side Corinthians and was part of the Leverkusen squad that finished runners-up in the league. The midfielder played 23 times under new coach Christoph Daum. After a year with the Werkself, Elias moved on to Inter Milan. Today is his 45th birthday, so happy birthday!
Werkself TV shows the highlights of the 4-0 victory in the friendly match against KRC Genk...
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In their third friendly of this pre-season, Bayer 04 played on home soil for the first time – and won there too! The Werkself claimed a comfortable 4-0 victory against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. Jeanuel Belocian (9’) and Nathan Tella (42’) gave a dominant Leverkusen a 2-0 lead at the break, which Afonso Moreira (51’) and Christian Kofane (53’) doubled after the break. Among the many second-half substitutions was Patrik Schick, who made his first friendly appearance of the summer.
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The Werkself continue their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with their third friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Wednesday 29 July (kick-off 15:00 CEST). Werkself-TV is broadcasting the match live and in full in a stream from 14:50 CEST...
After the children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy grilled Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch last week, another group of 20 young Werkself fans gathered at the BayArena press conference room on Tuesday afternoon, 28 July . This time, the kids directed their questions at Tim Oermann and Jonah Berghoff. Defender Oermann raved about his school days, whilst talented midfielder Berghoff revealed to the young footballers, amongst other things, who his favourite player is – and he is also at Bayer 04. To round things off, the pair naturally obliged with all requests for autographs and selfies.
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Bayer 04 are back on the pitch. Following the first training sessions, the Werkself play the first pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 18. The match against Oberliga club Sportfreunde Baumberg kicks off at 15:30 CEST in Monheim am Rhein. Fans unable to attend the match can watch head coach Carles Martínez’s first game in charge for free via a livestream at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app, as well as on Werkself.tv (exclusively for members). Just log on and watch the games live. All the other Werkself preseason friendlies leading up to the 2026/27 season will also be streamed live for free.
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