
Some 60 children attending the Bayer 04 Soccer School were in the press conference room at the BayArena on Thursday afternoon eagerly expecting the arrival of Noah Mbamba and Madi Monamay. After a vocal reception, the 6- to 14-year-olds fired off questions to the Belgian duo about how they started football and their motives for moving under the Bayer Cross. "Leverkusen are a good team. We want to achieve a lot here," Monamay told the children.
Mbamba revealed to the children that he met Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Co. in the group match against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2021/22 Champions League campaign and that it was one of the absolute highlights of his career to date. Monamay answered the question of how he wanted to achieve his dream of being a professional footballer: "Through discipline, hard work in training and belief in myself.".

Mbamba and Monamay also answered in response to the classic questions of "Messi or Ronaldo?" and "Who is your favourite player?" Defender Monamay named World Cup and European Championship winner Sergio Ramos with the explanation: "He's a good player of outstanding merit and one of my idols in football."
All the questions were answered by the end of the 30-minute children's press conference. The Leverkusen players finished off by happily fulfilling all autograph and photo requests – and after a good hour they left happy and clearly satisfied children at the Bayer 04 Soccer School.

A special afternoon at the Bayer 04 Football Academy autumn camp: At the Liga 20 indoor football centre, in the shadow of the BayArena, two Werkself women’s team players led a training session. Loreen Bender and Selina Ostermeier not only offered the young players advice and support, but also got stuck in themselves.
Show more
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 5-2 win against 1. FC Nürnberg in the second round of the DFB-Pokal 2026/27...
Show more
Bayer 04 came from 2-0 down to beat Nürnberg 5-2 in the second round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal on Wednesday night. Edmond Tapsoba’s double either side of half-time sparked the turnaround, before Patrik Schick, Jonas Hofmann and Lucas Vázquez ensured progress to the last 16 for the 2024 cup winners.
Show more
The Werkself have reached at least the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal in each of the last three years. The Black-and-Reds would like to make it to the final four of the competition again this season, but to do that they'll need to overcome 1. FC Nürnberg in round two, who travel to the BayArena with momentum following a successful league campaign so far. However, Bayer have a 100 percent record at home in all competitions this season - and have also won six of their last seven home matches in the Pokal. The Matchday News.
Show more