The two teams in the final have been confirmed for nearly weeks. The identity of the match officials for the 77th DFB Cup final was revealed on Saturday morning: The German Football Association have opted for Tobias Welz, one of the most experienced referees. The man from Wiesbaden is assisted by Rafael Foltyn and Martin Thomsen on the touchlines. Patrick Ittrich is the fourth official and the video assistant is Felix Zwayer.
As usual, Germany’s domestic cup final – to be broadcast in 193 countries –is available free-to-air on ARD. It is also on pay TV broadcaster Sky. Fans of the Black and Reds can listen to commentary on Werkself Radio and follow the match via live text commentary.
The big black and red live show for the final! From 19.04 CET, Bayer 04 will again present the ‘19:04 – The Show for the #FinaLEV’ on Facebook and YouTube from the Schwadbud. Today’s guest will be the Leverkusen old hand Peter Hermann, assistant coach for the DFB Cup final win in 1993. René Adler, goalkeeper in the last final involving the Werkself in 2009, will also join in and honorary captain Stefan Kießling will provide updates from Berlin. There will also be other surprises during the show – get ready and tune in!
“Bring the cup back to LEV – make history”: These emotional words are to be seen in the stands at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin to the left and right of the Marathon Gate. That is where the Werkself fans would have been seated. To provide support for the team, the seats in that area will be covered with black and red T-shirts – so the “North Stand” will be in Berlin. This also makes it clear: The whole club is longing for the second DFB Cup win in the club’s history.
The DFB official match magazine provides a review of the season and gives fans, who unfortunately have to watch the game at home on TV, all the information required on the final and the two finalists. This includes, from a black and red perspective, the DFB youth coach Christian Wück discussing the Leverkusen youngster Florian Wirtz, who could be the youngest-ever player in the history of the DFB Cup final. And Michael Ballack, who played for both clubs, reveals who he believes should lift the trophy. Click HERE for the online edition of the DFB match magazine.
This news will interest anyone backing the team from Leverkusen: The special edition #B04RLIN Werkself Magazine is out! We look back with black and red contemporaries such as Andreas Thom and René Adler at the three previous final appearances of Bayer 04. Plus: in-depth interviews with sporting director Simon Rolfes and cup specialist Lukas Hradecky. Click HERE for the online version, print copies have been posted out to Club members.
The traditional ecumenical service held on the day of the DFB Cup final has a new format this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of a service at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche in Berlin, the representatives of the Christian churches plus DFB president Fritz Keller have produced a 13-minute video message of devotion for the football fans.
The second friendly and the first goal for the Bayer 04 Women: The Werkself just missed out on their first win in the preseason away to top-flight Dutch side PEC Zwolle. The team led by coach Roberto Pätzold drew 1-1 on Friday afternoon in Wezep. As with the friendly against TSG Hoffenheim (0-2) a number of first-team players were absent. The coach once again shared out time on the pitch for the 20-player squad. The goal of the match was scored by summer signing Vanessa Fudalla (67').
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Continuity under the Cross: After the successful season in 2024/25 with reaching the final of the VBL Club Championship, the two Leverkusen e-sports players Marc and Sean Landwehr have extended their contracts at Bayer 04 by an additional two years. Marc is thereby in his sixth year and Sean in his third year with the Werkself. Together with e-talent Marcus Hüttemann, who has also extended his stay at Bayer 04 Bayer year, completes the current squad for the 2025/26 season.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed centre forward Christian Kofane. The 18-year-old Cameroonian joins Leverkusen from Spanish second tier club Albacete on a contract to 30 June 2029.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will wear the new away kit for the 2025/26 season at the start of the training camp in Brazil. In conscious contrast to the international aspect of this year's training camp in Rio de Janeiro, kit supplier New Balance has designed a jersey for the Werkself players and all other Bayer 04 teams with distinct links to home.
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