
The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reports a "goal-packed training session" for the Black and Reds. Nadiem Amiri and Lucas Alario put the game "beyond any chance of excitement in no time at all" with the goals to make it 2-0 and 3-0. One young attacker for the Werkself was particularly impressive: "In the middle of all the lively passing and dribbling, it was the 17-year-old Florian Wirtz who was involved in practically every halfway dangerous attack."
The Kölnische Rundschau headline reads: "Leverkusen give nothing away." According to the newspaper, the Black and Reds were "clinical" in the first half hour and went on to play "in overdrive." The report continues: "Even after the shortest period of preparation for all participants on this weekend, Leverkusen did not wobble at any point."
Another journal describes the performance of the Werkself as a "successful afternoon of football." The Rheinische Post sees the goal from new signing Patrik Schick to make it 7-0 as the "icing on the cake" of this clash. Furthermore: "With the efficiency of the first half over the full 90 minutes, the game could have ended with a double-digit win." Nadiem Amiri and Florian Wirtz received the best individual assessments.

According to the Stuttgarter Zeitung, the Werkself, playing against Norderstedt, "did not show any mercy for the fourth-tier visitors in the first 30 minutes." Bayer 04 have reached the next round "thanks to an impressive first half without any problems."

Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
Show more
Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
Show more
Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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 personal 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