This will be the second competitive meeting of Sportfreunde Lotte and Bayer 04. The first encounter was last season in the first round of the DFB Cup. The Werkself clocked up a convincing 3-0 win with Stefan Kießling opening the scoring on 15 minutes. Hakan Calhanoglu (55') and Lars Bender (77') sealed the victory with two goals from the penalty spot.
Lotte knock out Werder Bremen
Sportfreunde Lotte face Bundesliga opposition for the fourth time in their fourth DFB Cup tie. After defeats against VFL Bochum in 2009 (0-1) and Bayer 04 in 2015 (0-3) the third tie against Werder Bremen produced the first victory (2-1).
Lotte ended last season in the Regional League West with a 15 point advantage over the Borussia Mönchengladbach second team. With 83 points Sportfreunde was the most successful regional League side in of Germany in 2015/16.
Since losing out under coach Robin Dutt to Dynamo Dresden in the first round of the cup in 2011/12 (a 4-3 defeat on penalties) the Werkself have reached the last 16 in the last four seasons.
Quarter-finals three times in succession
Bayer 04 have reached the quarter-finals in each of the past three seasons, thus equalling a club record. The last time the Werkself reached the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup three times on the bounce was between 1991/92 and 1993/94.
The last three seasons saw the Black and Red's go out at the quarter-final stage at home. On the road, Bayer 04 have always gone through in the last nine cup games – a current club record.
Will Chicha score again?
Chicharito Chicharito paved the way to the 2-1 first round success at Hauenstein with his opening goal. In 2015/16 the Mexican scored for cup goals – only Dortmund's Henrikh Mkhitaryan managed more (five goals).
Fernandez:"I would have preferred a different opponent"
Lotte goalkeeper Benedikt Fernandez is a good old friend in Leverkusen. Fernandez spent almost eleven years at Bayer 04 making six Bundesliga appearances for the Werkself. He was in goal for Lotte in last season's 3-0 defeat. "This match was extremely special for me. I recognised a lot of familiar faces after all those years. You can't beat that. That's why I would have preferred a different opponent this time as Bayer will not be an easy team to beat," said the 31 year-old in an interview with DFB.de.
More familiar faces
In addition to Fernandez, Gerrit Nauber, André Dej and Alexander Hettich are three other players at Sportfreunde who used to play for Bayer 04: André Dej, who played for Bayer 04 youth teams, provided the assist for Matthias Rahn to score the first goal in the 2-1 win against Werder Bremen in the first round. And on 54 minutes he netted the winner. Dej was involved in seven attempts on goal - the highest number on the pitch.
Lotte’s first-choice captain Gerrit Nauber moved from the VfL Osnabrück U17s to the Bayer 04 U17s in 2008 and he went on to play for the U19 side and the reserves. In July 2012 Nauber signed for Lotte. Alexander Hettich helped fire the Bayer 04 U19 team to victory over Bayern Munich in extra time in 2007 to win the German U19 title.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have loaned U19 midfielder Jeremiah Mensah to Dutch second-tier side Roda JC Kerkrade for one year. The 18-year-old Germany youth international has a long-term contract at the club to 2031.
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Bayer 04 kick off the final phase of their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with a friendly against Premier League club Nottingham Forest. Head coach Carles Martínez’s team will take to the pitch at the City Ground today, Wednesday 12 August (kick-off: 8.45 pm/7.45 pm local time). Werkself-TV will broadcast the match live and in full exclusively for Bayer 04 members via livestream from 8.35 pm...
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Argentina international Facundo Medina. The defender, who can play both at left-back and in a more central position in the back line, has signed a contract with Bayer 04 to 30 June 2031. The 1.84-metre-tall World Cup runner-up, who will wear the number 2 shirt, joins the club from French top-flight side Olympique de Marseille.
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Villa Fiorito, River Plate, Ligue 1, the World Cup final and now Bayer 04: Facundo Medina’s life story so far has been shaped by special places, clubs, matches and names. One of them is Diego Maradona, who, like Medina, hailed from the south of Buenos Aires. Another is Exequiel Palacios, his former team-mate at River Plate, who was raving about Bayer 04 to him as recently as the World Cup in North America. Medina has now taken the plunge into the Bundesliga and, as an Argentine World Cup runner-up, has joined Bayer 04 from Olympique de Marseille this week. It is set to be the next successful chapter in his career. Leverkusen’s new number 2 brings with him a South American mentality and passion, a wealth of experience from many years in Ligue 1, and a fascinating story to the Rhineland – and to a club where the 1.84-metre-tall left-footed player will be reunited with Palacios and several other familiar faces.
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Shortly after signing his contract with Bayer 04, new signing Facundo Medina spoke to Werkself.tv about his first impressions of the club, his expectations and his conversations with his Argentine compatriot Exequiel Palacios. The defender also reveals what the fans can look forward to. Welcome to Leverkusen, Facu!
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