Bayer 04 qualified for next season’s Champions League campaign a week and a half ago and now 25 teams are through to the group stage. The latest to make it on Sunday were the Russian club Locomotive Moscow (including former Germany international Benedikt Höwedes) plus, from Italy, Inter Milan and, for the first time in the club’s history, Atalanta Bergamo with their German left-back Robin Gosens. The Werkself could face any of the three teams in the group stage but up to now they definitely will not play FC Salzburg or Valencia. Those two teams are in Pot 3 along with Bayer 04.
The line-up so far is (as at 28 May 2019): Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Bayer 04 (all Germany), Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur (all England), Juventus, Napoli, Atalanta, Inter Milan (all Italy), Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, Valencia (all Spain), Paris St. Germain, Lille OSC (both France), Zenit St. Petersburg, Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia), Benfica (Portugal), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), KRC Genk (Belgium), Galatasaray (Turkey) plus FC Salzburg (Austria).
If Arsenal, with former Bayer 04 goalkeeper Bernd Leno, win the Europa League final on Wednesday then the London club would be the fifth English team in the Champions League. The other places will be determined from the end of June via individual qualifying rounds.
The qualified clubs can not just look forward to unforgettable nights of football but also significant amounts of money. UEFA are expected to announce next week how high the bonuses will be for the participants. In comparison to the Europa League, it should be a financial quantum leap. In 2018/2019, UEFA distributed over €2 billion to the clubs and each of the 32 participants received starting bonus of 15.25 million. On top of that, there are performance bonuses. By comparison: Bayer 04 received a starting bonus of less than €3 million in the Europa League last season.
Next Saturday’s final between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur provides further impressive numbers. The match will be broadcast live in over 200 countries and between 300 and 400 million people will watch the final. That makes the Champions League final one of the biggest individual sporting events in the world – and a former Bayer 04 pro is centre stage. Heung-Min Son, who scored 29 goals in 87 games for the Werkself between 2013 and 2015, played an enormously important role in Spurs qualifying for the final of the Champions League for the first time. The South Korean demonstrated his ability in the quarter-finals against Premier League champions Manchester City with the only goal of the game in the first leg and a brace in the 4-3 defeat in the second. Now Son is about to play in the biggest Champions League game of his career. His first was with the Werkself: He provided the assist for Simon Rolfes to level at 1-1 in the 4-2 defeat against Manchester United in September 2013.
Since 2023, Bayer 04 has been organising regular free goalkeeping coach training sessions at the BayArena. As in previous years, the event attracted enormous interest in mid-October 2026. Around 140 participants – mostly goalkeeping coaches from the region, but also team and academy coaches as well as association staff – came to the Werkself stadium to gain expert knowledge on the subject of zonal marking. Through a theoretical keynote presentation and a practical session on the pitch, the participants gained insights into goalkeeping and goalkeeper training at Bayer 04.
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A first for the Werkself: Today, Thursday 15 October (kick-off: 18:45 CEST), Bayer 04 face Lech Poznan for the first time on matchday 2 in the UEFA Europa League group. Although the Black and Reds have a flawless record against the only Polish opposition faced before, they must not underestimate the attacking ability and goal-scoring threat of the reigning champions from Poznan. Lech’s squad also includes two former Bundesliga players. Today's matchday news.
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Some 30 years on since their last European fixture in Poland, Bayer 04 cross the border for Thursday’s UEFA Europa League clash against Lech Poznan on Matchday 2 of the league phase on Thursday (kick-off: 18:45 CEST). Ahead of a first-ever meeting with Lech, head coach Carles Martínez and winger Nathan Tella spoke in Poznan about special memories and objectives.
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The NB Vintage Collection is here and available now! Members enjoy an exclusive priority purchase period (online shop only). Non-members will then be able to purchase items from Saturday 17 October (10:00 CEST). Sales will also begin at the same time at the Bayer 04 Fanwelt.
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