The Black and Yellows ended the domestic season in the Swedish Allsvenskan league three weeks ago. Last season's champions finished third this time. The 2-1 defeat on the final matchday against IF Brommapojkarna did not affect the final positions. Häcken were more or less certain of finishing in third place. That puts them in the qualifying round for the UEFA Europa League. Coach Per-Mathias Högmo summed up the season: "We played some very good football in the spring and summer. Our performances were too inconsistent after the summer. This year we didn't deserve to finish higher than third place but I think it is acceptable under the circumstances and with all the success we have had." Häcken won the domestic cup competition in 2023 in addition to the championship last year. And reaching the group stage of the Europa League was also a great achievement for the club.
In the end, Häcken were unable to compete in the title race in the Allsvenskan but they did play an important role in the outcome of the the league campaign. The Högmo team beat title favourites Malmö FF 4-2 at home on the penultimate matchday. The stand-out player for the hosts was the 18-year-old midfielder Pontus Dahbo who scored two goals. Malmö were lucky that title rivals and league leaders Elfsborg only managed to draw 2-2 in their home game. Swedish record champions Malmö were able to secure their 23rd league title with a 1-0 victory over Elfsborg on the final matchday of the season. The winner was scored by a familiar face in Leverkusen: Isaac Kiese Thelin played for Bayer 04 for a year in the 2018/19 season (14 games, one goal).
Häcken are bottom of the table in Group H of the Europa League with no points to date. The opening 4-0 defeat away to the Werkself was followed by a 1-0 loss against Qarabag at home and then two defeats (1-5, 1-3) against Molde. Together with TSC Backa Topola, group opponents for SC Freiburg, Häcken have conceded 13 goals and that is the equal highest of all the 32 teams participating in the competition.
In the match at the BayArena two months ago the Werkself were on top early and went 2-0 up with goals from Florian Wirtz (10') and Amine Adli (16'). Victor Boniface (66') and Jonas Hofmann (70') extended the lead to 4-0 for the clearly superior hosts.
The Swedish team, less prolific in the Europa League, scored the highest number of goals in the Allsvenskan (69). On the European stage Häcken have had relatively few shots on goal but there is also room for improvement in converting chances.
As Häcken have not played another game since 12 November, the team prepared for the match against Bayer 04 with a friendly last Friday. The Black and Yellows beat Norwegian second division team Kongsvinger IL 2-1 at home at the Ullevi in Gothenburg. Experienced player Mikkel Rygaard opened the scoring for the Swedes, striker Ola Kamara netted the winner at 2-1 just before the end of the game. "I think we played well," said assistant coach Jesper Ljung. "We used the game to get the feel for the Ullevi again before next Thursday but also to fine tune some tactical details we worked on during the week."
The 18-year-old striker Momodou Sonko played in the friendly a couple of days after being voted Youth Player of the Year in 2023 in Sweden. Sonko scored seven goals in 23 games in the Allsvenskan and he also provided four assists. He has also scored one of the two Häcken goals in the Europa League this term.
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…
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From special edition jerseys to fan banners, the home game against Mainz 05 was all about the many Bayer 04 fan clubs. Accordingly, a fitting tribute to the long-standing Werkself supporters was not to be missed during half-time in the Bundesliga match. Fernando Carro, CEO, honoured the up to 50-year anniversaries of six fan clubs in front of the coaches' benches at the BayArena.
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It is an expression of solidarity and a tribute to the unique fan culture Under the Cross: Bayer 04 Leverkusen make a special statement with the "50 Years of Fan Clubs" jersey. To mark the founding of the "First Fan Club 1976 Leverkusen", which was followed by many more over the years right up to the present day, the Bundesliga club is commemorating 50 years of passion with this new jersey. Highs and lows, successes celebrated together as well as defeats suffered are manifested in this piece of white fabric, a symbol of unwavering identification with the Werkself.
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There’s lots going on at the BayArena today. The home game against FSV Mainz 05 is all about the numerous Bayer 04 fan clubs, whose birth - the founding of the "1. Fanclub 1976 Leverkusen" - dates back 50 years. A number of fan club representatives will be involved in awards, a banner display and a half-time matchday chat, and the Werkself are set to play in a special white fan club jersey. During half-time, Leverkusen mayor Stefan Hebbel and javelin world champion Steffi Nerius will also talk about the Olympic bid involving Leverkusen. Black and Red fans are advised to get to the stadium in good time today. Matchday news.
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The Werkself host Premier League club Arsenal in the Round of 16 first leg in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. The match at the BayArena is on 10/11 March. Read on for information on ticket sales for this fixture.
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