Excitement and anticipation are growing. That can be felt all over Leverkusen – and also seen now. The city is bedecked in the club colours of black and red. A total of 29 flags for the Pokal-#FinaLEV are flying in Leverkusen – they were hoisted at the BayArena this morning. Others will be flown this week from the town hall, on the administration building, on Landrat-Trimborn-Platz, at Schloss Morsbroich as well as in front of the Bayer Erholungshaus and the Bayer AG Casino. Bayer Leverkusen are also providing more colour: Bayer 04 have sent a small fan package to 50,000 households: We look forward to seeing flags in windows, in front gardens and on fences!
Ahead of such an important game, it would be great to send ‘your Werkself’ greetings, messages of encouragement or a shout of ‘come on you lads’ in person. Due to the coronavirus pandemic that unfortunately continues to be impossible. The team led by Peter Bosz are training behind closed doors to avoid any risk of infection. A slight consolation: Cardboard cut out figures of the Werkself stars are distributed all over the city – life size, to touch and photograph.
Sven Bender knows how to win cup finals – he twice lifted the trophy with Borussia Dortmund (2011/12 & 2016/17). Nevertheless: “A final is always special. It’s a great game that you don’t play in very often,” said the 31-year-old today said at a press conference. “Every final I’ve experienced was somehow different, ” added the defender. This time is even more unusual: “It will be a completely different final without spectators. But that doesn’t change it being a big match against a big opponent. This title has an extremely high value for the club – it’s a massive opportunity.” The full interview will be available tomorrow on bayer04.de.
After work is ‘Bayer 04 time’! From today, Werkself fans should set time aside every day up to Saturday’s cup final at four minutes past seven in the evening for ‘19:04 – The Show’! We will broadcast cup final information and events on YouTube and Facebook. We will be out on the road all over Leverkusen up to the cup final. Look forward to previous rounds of the cup, interviews with our cup heroes of 1993, on fan activities in our city, reports of preparations for the Werkself, players’ statements and insights behind the scenes.
Tonight (Monday) our presenter Mara Mones reports from Aachen – the venue for the Werkself in the first round of the DFB Cup. We look back at the game against Alemannia and also talk to the cup winner Franco Foda, who played for Bayer 04 from 1990 to 1994. We also take a look round Leverkusen. Tune in!
Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the German Football League (DFL), announced the top male and female selections for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season this week. Bayer 04 striker Vanessa Fudalla is in the starting eleven of the women's "Team of the Season". Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix Garcia have been selected as bench players in the men's team.
Show more
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
Show more
With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
Show more
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
Show more
From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
Show more
