That keeper is Bernd Leno. Born in Baden-Württemberg, Leno played for the Black and Reds from 2011 to 2018 making 304 appearances and he kept 100 clean sheets. The shot-stopper also holds a record: In 2014/15, Leno went 527 minutes without conceding a goal to beat the previous club record held by Rüdiger Vollborn (485 minutes). After leaving in the summer of 2018, Leno now plays for Arsenal in the Premier League.
But back to Leverkusen: Benjamin Cortus is the referee for tonight’s DFB Cup tie against Union Berlin. The 38-year-old IT specialist is supported by assistant referees Florian Heft and Christian Leicher, and the video assistant is Tobias Reichel. Bayer 04 have never lost a game when Cortus has been in charge: Two wins – one in the DFB Cup – plus one draw is the record to date. All three matches were in 2016/17.
Today’s game is the seventeenth time the Werkself have been in the DFB quarter-finals since 1967. The Black and Reds have gone through to the semi-finals eight times and been in the final at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin three times; the Werkself lifted the DFB Cup in 1992/93. The last semi-final appearance was not too long ago: Bayer 04 lost to Bayern Munich in 2017/18.
Stefan Kießling, former Werkself player and advisor to the Bayer 04 board, talked in an interview with dfb.de about his career, the 2009 DFB Cup final and today’s game against Union Berlin. In terms of Union, the 36-year-old said: “They defend well and are well-organised. It’s incredibly hard playing against them.” Kies highlighted the striker Sebastian Andersson: He likes the way “he holds onto the ball and distributes it.”
The groups for the second Nations League were drawn last night. Germany with Kai Havertz, Jonathan Tah, Nadiem Amiri and Co. are in Group A4 with Switzerland, Ukraine and three-time European champions Spain. The Werkself Austria players Julian Baumgartlinger and Aleksandar Dragovic are in Group B1 along with Norway, Northern Ireland and Romania. Lukas Hradecky and his Finland team-mates are in Group B4 with Wales, Ireland and Bulgaria.
The group stage will be played on three double matchdays between September and November after the Euros in the summer. The finals tournament will involve the four group winners in Division A and will be held from 2 to 6 June 2021.
Kasper Hjulmand managed 1. FSV Mainz 05 during the 2014/15 season. Now he returns to the MEWA ARENA as head coach of Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Saturday 18 October (kick-off 15:30 CEST). The record against the 05ers as well as the hosts' underwhelming start to the season favour the Werkself, but other stats and comments reveal a battling Mainz side who are determined to get back on track. The Matchday News brings you the latest ahead of the Bundesliga Matchday 7 clash.
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Bayer 04 Women have less than 72 hours to recover from the rearranged derby against Köln. Coach Roberto Pätzold's side host VfL Wolfsburg, who are level on points, in a crunch match at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Sunday (kick-off 17:15 CEST).
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Bayer 04 return from the international break with a trip to Mainz in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Ahead of the Matchday 7 fixture, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke at his press conference on Friday about the 05ers, returning to his former club and provided a fitness update on the squad.
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Mainz were one of the surprise packages of last season as their power football earned them a sixth-place finish a return to Europe after nine years with qualification for the UEFA Conference League. Things aren’t going as well for the 05ers this term, as they prepare to host Bayer 04 on Matchday 7 in the Bundesliga still searching for a positive result at home.
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A group of journalists representing Latin American and Spanish-language media outlets visited the BayArena on Thursday for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Bayer 04 and interviews with key personnel that have driven the team’s brand to new heights internationally over the last few years.
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