The Werkself completed the final pre-match training session at the Grands Stade de Nice in dry weather and temperatures of around ten degrees. Also with the squad are youngsters Emrehan Gedikli and Cem-Tuna Türkmen. The latter has received his first call-up to the first-team squad. Also on the pitch were Nadiem Amiri, Karim Bellarabi and Edmond Tapsoba. All three missed last weekend's 0-0 draw with Hertha Berlin but are now back in the squad under head coach Peter Bosz for the Europa League clash with Nice on Thursday night 3 December (kick-off: 21.00 CET). Bayer04.de provides impressions from the final pre-match training session:
The obligatory pre-match press conference was held before the training session. And the club staff from Nice plus the French journalists were suitably impressed that Peter Bosz and Jonathan Tah replied to the questions from the hosts in French. Jonathan Tah, whose father comes from the Ivory Coast, did not hold back from making the interpreter aware of a slight error in translation. In his usual charming way and not with the verve of a German coach in England – the female interpreter acknowledged the mistake with a smile.
The head coach also communicated in the lingua franca. Peter Bosz played for Sporting Toulon from 1988 to 1991. That city is some 150 kilometres away from Nice and also on the Mediterranean. "I like the Côte d'Azur very much and I really enjoyed my time at Toulon," said Bosz.
Our head coach spelled out the Werkself targets at the press conference. "We want to win again and finish top of our group," said the Dutchman whose team can even afford to lose by less than four goals on the Côte d'Azur and still progress to the knockout rounds. The situation for the hosts is rather different. With just three points to date, there is just an outside chance of progressing to the next round.
"I'll field the best team I can to win this game. We have to work together," said Nice coach Patrick Vieira. Nice are currently eleventh in Ligue 1. In spite of the result (2-6) from the first meeting with the Werkself at the BayArena, the World Cup winner of 1998 was able to draw a couple of positives from his team's performance. "If you look closely at the first game then we were only poor in the final 15 minutes. We just have to play our game."
In addition to his key defender Dante, who used to play for Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach, Vieira is also missing striker Kasper Dolberg. Right-back Youcef Atal is also sidelined.
Maurizio Mariani is in charge of the Europa League game between the side from the south of France and the Werkself. The 38-year-old Italian referees Bayer 04 for the first time although he has already been on the pitch with a Black and Red duo back in November: Mariani was in charge of the Nations League game between Austria and Northern Ireland. Julian Baumgartlinger and Aleksandar Dragovic were in the starting line-up for the 2-1 win for the Austrians.
The match is being broadcast live on free TV. RTL Nitro start their coverage from the studio in Cologne at 20.15 CET. Presenter Laura Wontorra is the host for the evening with the Roman Weidenfeller filling the role of the pundit. Marco Hagemann and Steffen Freund will commentate the game. The streaming service DAZN is also showing #OGCNB04 live.
Black and Red fans can tune into Werks11 Radio from 20.30 CET. Cedric Pick will start broadcasting 30 minutes before kick-off. Unfortunately, his congenial partner Niko Hartmann is unavailable due to illness. Log on at bayer04.de or via the Bayer 04 app.
From the south of France to the south of Poland: Peter Hyballa, Leverkusen U19 coach from 2014 to 2016, this week took over the helm at the Polish first division club Wisla Kraków. Poland is the sixth country where the 44-year-old has worked as a coach. Up to now, Hyballa has coached in Germany, Namibia, Austria, Slovakia and the Netherlands.
The former Werkself head coach Heiko Herrlich celebrates his 49th birthday on Thursday. The Mannheim-born coach took over from Tayfun Korkut in the summer of 2017 and was in charge for 64 matches up to Christmas 2018. Herrlich can also look back at his days as a player under the Bayer Cross: The centre forward joined Leverkusen from the SC Freiburg U19s in 1989. In his four years at Leverkusen, he played a total of 75 Bundesliga matches (six goals) – and won the DFB Cup with the Black and Reds in 1993.
Herrlich signed for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the same year and he ended his playing career at Borussia Dortmund in 2004. Herrlich is currently the coach at Bundesliga club FC Augsburg. Many happy returns, Heiko.
Dirk Heinen also celebrates his birthday this Thursday – he is 50. Before Heinen was signed up at Bayer 04 by the then youth coach Reiner Calmund, he played for the youth team at Rot-Weiß Köln-Zollstock. The former goalkeeper started his career at Leverkusen with the U19 side. He was finally called up to the first-team squad in 1989 and then became the regular first choice shot-stopper.
Heinen played in goal 107 times for the Werkself and celebrated winning the cup in 1992/93 with the Black and Reds including Heiko Herrlich. The Cologne-born keeper was in goal for the Werkself for 18 years from 1981. Heinen ended his playing career at Armenia Bielefeld in 2008. Bayer 04 wish Dirk a happy birthday.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-1 at TSG Hoffenheim on the 3rd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
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Starting with the 2026/27 season, Bayer 04 has created a permanent memorial space at the BayArena. In the upper section of Block A in the southeast corner of the stadium, Werkself fans can honour friends and family members with whom they have shared many special moments connected to Bayer 04. In the coming months, this space will be gradually expanded, in particular with the active support of the fans.
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Bayer 04 has secured a new premium partner in DXC Technology, a leading provider of enterprise technology and innovation. The club has agreed a partnership with DXC running until 30 June 2028. At the heart of the partnership is DXC’s role as an AI integration partner. The company is integrating Bayer 04’s previously separate digital systems into a unified fan journey that begins long before matchday and extends well beyond the stadium visit. As a partner of the women’s team and main sponsor of #B04eSports, DXC will be supporting two promising sections of the club during this period. DXC will also gain significant visibility as the sleeve partner of the women’s team in the DFB Pokal.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have secured a new premium partner in the form of DRIVIO. DRIVIO, already part of the club’s partner portfolio as a reliable car subscription partner for Bayer 04, will continue to support the club in this capacity and, with immediate effect, also join the premium group of companies that cooperate closely with the Werkself. The premium and car subscription partnership between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and DRIVIO will initially run until 30 June 2027.
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“Welcome home” was the message from a visually emotional fan in the direction of Moussa Diaby after Wednesday’s open training session. The French winger had just appeared on the BayArena training ground for the first time in three years following his return to Bayer 04. And before he took time for selfies and autographs, Diaby spoke to the media. Fellow new arrival Guéla Doué was also in action but not with the team for now.
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