“We’re flabbergasted. We are really happy that this little initiative has proved to be so popular with the fans and the citizens of Leverkusen,” said Stefan Kießling, himself an amateur chef and also the patron of the book, about the huge success of the project. “Nobody believed at the beginning that the 3,000 copies would be sold out in three weeks.”
The idea that led to to the book came from two Bayer 04 employees: Anne Pleus (TecArena+) and Sabrina Räbsch (Marketing) initially asked colleagues to provide recipes to be able to cheer up members of staff working from home via the intranet. Pleus and Räbsch tried out the recipes, had professional photos taken and sorted the right layout. The book with spiral binding turned out to be a bestseller within a few days of going on sale both in the Bayer 04 shops and on the online shop.
It is all in a good cause. The proceeds from the book go in full to Tafel Leverkusen. €15,000 will be handed over on Friday 18 December. “The Tafel with its 7,100 people in need in Leverkusen is obviously going through a tough time due to the coronavirus pandemic. That’s why this donation is not only a real financial blessing for us but also motivates us to return to normality in the coming weeks and months,” said Dr. Adolf Staffe, chairperson of Tafel Leverkusen e. V., in paying tribute to the Bayer 04 initiative.
On the title page: The cookbook initiators Sabrina Räbsch (l.) and Anne Pleus (r.), patron Stefan Kießling (m.) plus Dr. Adolf Staffe (chairperson, 2nd left) and Reiner Endlein (deputy chair, both Tafel Leverkusen).
Video game producer Electronic Arts (EA) has announced the nominees for the Men's and Women's Team of the Year (TOTY) for EA Sports FC 26. With Patrik Schick and Alejandro Grimaldo for the men and Vanessa Fudalla for the women, there are three Bayer 04 players included. Fans of the Black-and-Reds can vote for each top XI of 2025 from now until 18:59 CET on Monday 12 January.
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The Werkself host Mainz at the BayArena on matchday 24 in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The match is on Saturday, 28 February, at 15:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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The long-standing successful collaboration between Bayer 04 and the transport service provider wupsi GmbH has been expanded: From January 2026, 100 wupsi bikes with Bayer 04 branding will be available for hire throughout the city of Leverkusen. They will complement the many existing offers and services that provide key support, especially for fans travelling to and from home matches at the BayArena.
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The Werkself are back! Following the two-week winter break, head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team began the new year with an open session on Sunday. After Robert Andrich and his teammates arrived in Leverkusen yesterday for the official check-in, they got back down to business a day later in front of around 1,200 fans at the Ulrich Haberland Stadion. The report from the Werkself's first session of 2026.
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