Ballack, who played for Leverkusen between 1998 and 2002 and again from 2010 to 2012, said: “I feel honoured to be able to officially represent Bayer 04 in this capacity. The team is playing incredibly dominant, attractive and successful football this season. I therefore wish the team, the management and the fans a worthy end to this outstanding season.”
CEO Fernando Carro is delighted “that a global star like Michael Ballack is once again representing our colours. We want to further intensify our relationship with him in the future and complete projects together.” Leverkusen's managing director for sport Simon Rolfes, who played alongside the former Germany captain in the national team and at the BayArena, also sees this as a strong sign: “Michael made a significant contribution to turning Bayer 04 into a top club at the turn of the millennium. He and his teammates were able to win over many fans for Bayer 04 with their inspiring football. Michael has left his mark on German football over the years and therefore has great charisma that makes him ideally qualified for this role.”
In addition to Ballack, Rüdiger Vollborn will also take on important representative duties for Bayer 04 in the coming weeks. The legendary goalkeeper, who won the UEFA Cup with the Werkself in 1988 and the DFB Cup in 1993, will officially represent Bayer 04 at the DFB's big Celebration Party on the eve of the final. In addition, Rudi will fulfil numerous media and PR appointments surrounding the final. In addition to Vollborn and Rolfes, all other honorary captains – namely Stefan Kiessling, Bernd Schneider, Ulf Kirsten, Lars Bender and Carsten Ramelow – have been invited to Berlin, as has Jens Nowotny, who played a decisive role as defensive boss in the Werkself's outstanding 2001/02 season. Brazilian Bayer 04 Legend Paulo Sergio will also be on hand to answer questions from various international TV stations.
After starting his career with this year's final opponents Kaiserslautern, Ballack developed into one of the Bundesliga’s best players of his time at Bayer 04 from 1998 to 2002. During this stint, the goalscoring midfielder also gained international renown, and his moves to Bayern Munich and later to Premier League club Chelsea made him a global star.
Despite his defeat with Bayer 04 in 2002, Berlin also has positive connotations for Ballack. He won the final and got to lift the DFB Cup there twice in a row with Bayern in 2004 and 2005.
Bayer 04 are through to the second round of the DFB Pokal after a 4-0 win at Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday night. The game was paused after only 18 minutes due to a storm over the ground. After a lengthy delay, play resumed and Patrik Schick opened the scoring. Arthur, Christian Kofane and Alejandro Grimaldo made things more comfortable in the second half, as the fourth-tier side had two players sent off.
Show more
There were no goals across 115 minutes of football between Bayer 04 Women and PSV Eindhoven in Friday’s friendly. Roberto Pätzold’s team played two 45-minute periods before an extra 25 minutes two days prior to heading to Rieden for their training camp. Their Dutch opponents were preparing for their UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifier in 12 days.
Show more
The first round of the DFB Pokal takes Bayer 04 to Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday. The amateur club have just gained promotion to the fourth-tier Regionalliga Südwest and kicked off their campaign with two impressive wins. Here’s all you need to know as Erik ten Hag makes his competitive bow as Werkself boss at the WIRmachenDRUCK Arena (kick-off: 6pm CEST).
Show more
After two months preparing for the new season, the Werkself play the first game of the 2025/26 campaign on Friday, 15 August (kick-off: 18:00 CEST) away to SG Sonnenhof Großaspach in the first round of the DFB Pokal. Ahead of the tie against the team newly promoted to the Regional League South West, head coach Erik ten Hag talked about his approach to the knockout game and his soft spot for cup competitions.
Show more
Bayer 04 Leverkusen has a new Premium Partner in its ranks in Düsseldorf company LumenHaus GmbH. The leading provider of networked home energy solutions has initially agreed a one-year partnership with the Bundesliga runners-up to the end of the 2025/26 season.
Show more
