
Captain Lars Bender and Stefan Kießling dropped in for 45 minutes to join the fans in getting in the mood for the cup semi-final against Bayern Munich. In addition, the two key players and fan favourites took part in a Q&A session in a relaxed atmosphere. The areas covered included the season to date and the forthcoming challenges in the Bundesliga and DFB Cup.
Even though some Black and Red supporters dared to dream of going to Berlin: Lars and Kies remained level-headed. "We'll do well to take it step-by-step. Bayern will present a really tough challenge that we want to overcome. It will be difficult but we'll give all we've got," promised the skipper. And Kies added: "We're really looking forward to a great night in the cup on Tuesday and we're relying on your full support. We want to work together to win it for us all."

In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
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The Werkself return tomorrow, Tuesday 14 July (from 11:00 CEST at the BayArena; live stream on bayer04.de, the Bayer 04 app and YouTube), with new head coach Carles Martínez leading his first training session as part of the Bayer 04 set-up. His coaching team comprises a mix of new and long-standing colleagues.
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The Germany U19 team were beaten 2-0 by record champions Spain in the final of the U19 European Championship in Wales. Bayer 04 players Montrell Culbreath and Francis Onyeka (on loan at SV 07 Elversberg) were in the starting line-up and played the full 90 minutes.
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