Tonight brings the next 'Spieltag – Die Show'. The live broadcast from the Schwadbud starts at 20.15 CET with Mara taking you through the evening. There promises to be lively discussion this time with legendary general manager Reiner Calmund as well as the former Werkself players Philip Wollscheid and Carsten Ramelow joining the broadcast that will be available by the Bayer 04 YouTube channel.
For FCS, the first fourth tier team in the history of the DFB Cup to reach the last four, the semi-final is the first competitive match in more than three months. "But it is for my players and me something like the match of our lives. There is an extremely limited probability that we will ever be able to experience something like this again," explained Saarbrücken's head coach Lukas Kwasniok ahead of the game. The FCS team and staff have been at their quarantine training camp at the Victor's Residenz Hotel Rodenhof since Wednesday.
Bayer04.de this week interviewed Marcus Mann, the sporting director at Saarbrücken. The 36-year-old talked about a "bonus match" for the club, his assessment of their chances and the time at the quarantine hotel. Click HERE for the interview.
With a few hours to go ahead of the clash at the Hermann Neuberger Stadium in Völklingen, we have looked back at the eight Werkself appearances in the last four of the domestic cup competition. That includes numerous exciting encounters that were settled in extra time or even with a penalty shootout. Curious? Click HERE for the article.
Midfielder Nadiem Amiri, looking at the knockout tie against the Regional League side, stresses that motivation is "high" ahead of the game. "From the first minute, we want to show with our performance that we definitely want to go through to the final," said the Germany international in an interview with dfb.de. The 23-year-old also explained: "we'll have to be patient. And an early goal for us would definitely help." The interview is available (in German) HERE.
We'll also take a brief look at last weekend – and that for a good reason! Youngster Florian Wirtz has entered the history books of the Bundesliga with his goal in the 4-2 defeat to FC Bayern: The Werkself winger now holds top spot with his first goal in the top flight as the youngest league goalscorer – at an age of just 17 years and 34 days. He takes over from the previous record holder Nuri Sahin who was 17 years and 82 days old.
In twelfth place is Julian Brandt who scored his first league goal with the Werkself at the age of 17 and 337 days. Ninth place is currently held by Kai Havertz (17 years, 295 days).
Striker Joel Pohjanpalo (under contract at Bayer 04 to 2022) only made one appearance for the Werkself this season due to a number of injuries in the first half of the campaign. The Finland international then went out on loan to second division Hamburg SV in the winter break to get match practice. The 25-year-old is currently helping the team from North Germany in their quest to gain promotion to the Bundesliga – and he is proving to be a crucial factor in this enterprise. "Danger" has scored seven times in ten league matches. Last night he scored twice in the 3-3 draw against Holstein Kiel. Carry on, Jolle!
The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
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The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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The Bundesliga is back. On Saturday 29 August (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself are away to SV 07 Elversberg on matchday 1 of the new season. Ahead of the clash at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about the importance of a successful start and the motivation of the league newcomers from the Saarland.
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On Friday afternoon, it will be decided which eight of the 36 participating teams Bayer 04 will face in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in 2026/27. At the draw in Monaco (live on UEFA.com), the Werkself will be drawn against two teams from each of the four pots, allocated according to the UEFA club coefficient. A match against an opponent from the same country is ruled out, as is facing more than two clubs from the same national association. Here’s a look at the pots and potential opponents.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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