The evening began with a group photo. That was followed by a full programme for the Barmenia employees and their families. Patrik Schick and Karim Bellarabi dispensed Glühwein, Niklas Lomb and Florian Wirtz served kale and crêpes.
Florian Wirtz commented: "It's an important event for our main sponsors and obviously significant to us because of that. I only know Bayer 04 wearing the Barmenia logo on the shirt and for me it all fits together. At the end of the day, it's always great to gain an insight into the partners. Especially at Christmas time evenings like that are also particularly full of atmosphere."
The players were happy to sign autographs and pose for photos and afterwards took part in table football games with one or two Barmenia employees.
Heiko Scholz, main head of department and head of marketing at Barmenia, was also excited about the joint Christmas evening with the Werkself: "We were totally happy with the commitment shown tonight by the players and coaches. Above all, for our employees and the children, there were exciting and unique moments being able to see the players and coaches close-up.”
A cracker of a semi-final at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The Bayer 04 U19 team entertain Bayern Munich on Saturday, 10 May (kick-off: 11:00 CEST/stadium opens: 10:00 CEST). In front of a home crowd, the team led by head coach Sergi Runge, who welcomes back an attacking player, is looking to build on the battling performances from the previous knockout games and "perform at the right moment." Tickets are available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the game will also be broadcast live on Sky.
Show moreGermany U17 head coach Marc Meister has called up three Bayer 04 youth players for the forthcoming UEFA U17 European Championship. The tournament involving eight teams runs from 19 May to 1 June in Albania.
Show more"We have mixed feelings overall today," said head coach Xabi Alonso after the 2-2 draw away to SC Freiburg. Bayer 04 were deservedly 2-0 down against the Champions League contenders up to the closing minutes but fought back with a double whammy from Florian Wirtz and Jonathan Tah to earn a point in the end. That maintains the run of unbeaten away games in the Bundesliga – the all-time record has been achieved! The Werkself review.
Show moreBayer 04 have now gone 33 Bundesliga away games in succession without defeat and thereby equalled the record set by Bayern Munich: Jonathan Tah netted the equaliser at 2-2 in added time away to SC Freiburg on his 400th appearance for the Werkself. SCF took a 2-0 lead with a strike from Maximilian Eggestein (44') and a Piero Hincapie own goal (48') before Florian Wirtz pulled a goal back on 82 minutes.
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