FC Lokomotive Leipzig, Eintracht Norderstedt and Alemannia Aachen were the last three first-round opponents for the Werkself. This Sunday will determine who the Black and Reds will play at the start of the 2022/23 cup campaign.
The 64 teams will be put into two draw bowls based on last season. The Seoane team as a top-flight club, along with all the other Bundesliga clubs and the 14 best second division clubs from last season, will be put in the pot with the major teams. The right to play at home in the first round goes to the remaining 32 lower league clubs. That means the Werkself will start the new season away from home.
Bayer 04 will be competing in the DFB Cup for the 52nd time next season. The Black and Reds succeeded in winning the cup in the 1992/93 season under the coach Dragoslav Stepanovic. Leverkusen beat the Hertha Berlin Amateurs in the final thanks to a goal from Ulf Kirsten. The following three finals ended up in defeat: with a 4-2 loss against Schalke in 2002, a 1-0 reverse against Werder Bremen and a 4-2 defeat against Bayern Munich in 2020.
In Sunday night's draw, the Seoane team have 32 potential opponents for the opening tie. The Black and Reds have already met five of these clubs in the DFB Cup first round.
FC Carl Zeiss Jena (2012/13)
Bayer 04 played FC Carl Zeiss Jena in the first game of the 2012/13 DFB Cup competition. The team under coach Sascha Lewandowski were on their toes from the start. Simon Rolfes opened the scoring on three minutes. Karim Bellarabi (15'), Stefan Kießling (81') and Junior Fernandes (90') scored the other three goals in the 4-1 win against the current Thüringen Cup winners from the Regional League North-east.
Dynamo Dresden (2011/12)
Dynamo Dresden were the first-round opponents the season before. Everything seemed to be going to plan at first for Leverkusen; the Werkself were 3-0 up after 49 minutes thanks to goals from Eren Derdiyok (6’), Sidney Sam (12’) and Andre Schürrle. However, the hosts from Saxony staged an impressive comeback from the middle of the second half. Goals on 68, 70 and 81 minutes put the then second division side back in the match. Dresden's Alexander Schneltzer headed the winner in extra time at 4-3 to ensure an early cup exit for the Werkself.
Jahn Regensburg (2001/02)
In August 2001, Klaus Toppmöller's team were away to the then Regional League side Jahn Regensburg. Ulf Kirsten (13') put the Werkself on course for victory with the opener in front of a crowd of 10,550 at the municipal Jahnstadion. Central defender Lucio doubled the lead on 54 minutes before Bernd Schneider (61') rounded off the scoring to put Bayer 04 into the second round.
FC Kaiserslautern (1984/85)
The Werkself played FC Kaiserslautern in the first round of the DFB Cup in 1984/85. Leverkusen secured a convincing 5-0 win in the tie between the two Bundesliga clubs. Bum-Kun Cha, Christian Schreier (2), Herbert Waas and Helmut Winklhofer put the team under coach Dettmar Cramer through to the second round in front of 6,000 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium.
SV Waldhof Mannheim (1983/84)
The season before saw Bayer 04 head south to Baden-Württemberg for the DFB Cup opener in August 1983. Defender Helmut Winklhofer scored in the first 45 against SV Waldhof Mannheim but the hosts hit back in the second half with goals from Hans Hein (2) and Paul Linz saw an early cup exit for Bayer 04.
A special cup match happened on 3 October 1980: Bayer 04 were away to Offenbacher Kickers in the second round of the DFB Cup. The match ended in a 5-2 win for OFC but Werkself supporters are happy to remember the game as it led to a close fan friendship between Leverkusen and Offenbacher supporters. Back then the two clubs were brought together by common rivals Eintracht Frankfurt but the fan friendship has developed over 40 years under the motto "The Rhine for the one, the Main for the other".
The background: Weeks before in a Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 and Eintracht Frankfurt, there was a foul on Eintracht player Bum-Kun Cha who was sidelined as a result. Some Frankfurt fans called for revenge and they went to Offenbach to have a go at the travelling Leverkusen support for the cup game against the Werkself. To avoid the attacks from Frankfurt fans during the game, Bayer 04 fans sought refuge in the OFC block – a fan friendship was born.
Another chapter in this long-standing fan liaison could come with a meeting in the first round of the DFB Cup in 22/23. The Offenbacher Kickers qualified on the Finals day of the amateurs with a 1-0 win against TSV Steinbach Haiger. As the Hessen Cup winners, OFC will be drawn against a team from the Bundesliga or second division on Sunday.
DFB president Bernd Neuendorf and World Cup winner Kevin Großkreutz will make the first round cup draw on Sunday. The draw will be shown on TV from 19.15 CEST and via live stream at sportschau.de. The draw will be held at the German Football Museum in Dortmund with the Sportschau presenter Stephanie Müller-Spirra the compere for the evening.
Bundesliga: FC Köln, FSV Mainz 05, FC Union Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt, FC Augsburg, FC Bayern, FC Schalke 04, RB Leipzig, SC Freiburg, TSG Hoffenheim, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Bochum, VfL Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen, Hertha Berlin
Bundesliga 2: FC Heidenheim, FC Magdeburg, FC Nürnberg, Arminia Bielefeld, Eintracht Braunschweig, FC St. Pauli, Fortuna Düsseldorf, Hannover 96, Hansa Rostock, Holstein Kiel, Karlsruher SC, SC Paderborn, SSV Jahn Regensburg, SpVgg Greuther Fürth, SV Darmstadt 98, SV Sandhausen, Hamburg SV, FC Kaiserslautern
League 3: 1860 Munich, Erzgebirge Aue, FC Ingolstadt, SpVgg Bayreuth (Bavaria Regional League champions), Dynamo Dresden, Waldhof Mannheim (Baden Cup winners), SV Elversberg (Saarland Cup winners), Viktoria Köln (Middle Rhine Cup winners)
Regional League: BSV Rehden (Lower Saxony Cup winners), Teutonia Ottensen (Hamburg Cup winners), Viktoria Berlin (Berlin Cup winners), Kickers Offenbach (Hessen Cup winners), VfB Lübeck (Schleswig Holstein Cup winners), Energie Cottbus (Brandenburg Cup winners), FC Carl Zeiss Jena (Thüringen Cup winners), Chemnitzer FC (Saxony Cup winners), SV Rödinghausen (Westphalia Cup winners), SV Straelen (Lower Rhine Cup winners), FV Illertissen (Bavaria Cup winners)
Oberliga: FC Einheit Wernigerode (Sachsen-Anhalt Cup finalists), FV Engers (Rhineland Cup winners), SV Oberachern (South Baden Cup winners), TSG Neustrelitz (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Cup winners), Schott Mainz (Southwest Cup winners), Bremer SV (Bremen Cup winners), Stuttgarter Kickers (Württemberg Cup winners), Blau-Weiß Lohne (Lower Saxony Cup winners), Champions of Westphalia Oberliga (still to be decided)
A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
Show more
On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
Show more
Bayer 04 Leverkusen are bringing back Kerim Alajbegovic, who joined Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2025. The Bundesliga club activated the buy-back option in the contract with the Bosnia international, who has enjoyed great success at the Austrian top-flight club since the start of the current season. Alajbegovic moved to Salzburg from the Leverkusen U19s last year. The 1.86-metre forward has signed a five-year contract at Leverkusen with a start date of 1 July 2026.
Show more
Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
Show more
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
Show more
