Professionals against amateurs: 33 players from 12 Leverkusen clubs compete with Bayer 04 Bundesliga players for a good cause. Weekend after weekend, they face each other across the city in the battle for points. Now they are united against the Werkself. Dirk Dreher, general manager of the Veterans team at the Werkself, has put the team together in discussion with the coaches of the different clubs.
As a player, he was promoted to the Bundesliga with the Werkself in 1979 and, after ending his playing career, he was a member of the coaching staff at Bayer 04 for decades: Club legend Peter Hermann will coach the city team along with his ‘assistant’ Stefan Mueller (SV Schlebusch). In an interview with bayer04.de, the 69-year-old talks about his great motivation to take on this challenge on Wednesday night.
Peter, the charity match between the Werkself and the Leverkusen city team is happening in a few days. You'll be there looking after the city eleven. How did that come about?
Hermann: Bayer 04 asked me if I wanted to take part. Of course, I said yes straight away when the request came. I see this event as a very good thing and I also know a lot of people who unfortunately were and are affected directly by the flooding in the summer.
Your squad is made up of a total of 33 amateur players from different clubs in Leverkusen. How was the squad put together?
Hermann: Dirk Dreher mainly looked after that as he has good contact with the coaches and management of the clubs in Leverkusen. But we have been in close contact with each other for several weeks and we will prepare the lads the game as best as we can.
What can the players for the city team expect on Wednesday?
Hermann: As officials we will meet them in good time, get to know each other and have a calm chat. The lads can get changed in the away dressing room at the BayArena where Bundesliga stars normally prepare for matches. But the most important thing on the night will be that everybody involved really enjoys the game and that we end up with a big donation.
These players face the Werkself: Tim Breddemann, Marcel Schulz, Mustafa Uzun, Christoph Geschonnek, David Görgens (all SV Schlebusch), Patrick Paffrath, Kevin Luginger, Aristote Mambasa (all FC Leverkusen), Yasin Yüksel, Elfat Siani, Sefa Ocakli (all Genclerbirligi Opladen), Frederik Kosegarten, Simon Wirtz, Michael Mollek (all BV Bergisch Neukirchen), Christoph Beilmann, Rene Rekus, Lukas Riedel (all SV Bergfried Leverkusen), Daniel Fischermann, Bastian Prensema, Julian Kwoczalla (all SC Hitdorf), Nicola Morano, Filippo Ciulla, Adriano Amico (all SC Leverkusen), Enrico Albanese, Marcel Maier (both SSV Lützenkirchen), Cedric Engelen, Wissam Arabi (both ESV SW Opladen), Daniele Piras, Basti Labusga (both Roland Bürrig), Nico Schell, Fabio Arnone (both SSV Alkenrath), Matthias Senn, Fabian Krzyscin (both TuS Quettingen).
The team behind the team: Dirk Dreher (general manager), Peter Hermann (coach), Stefan Müller (assistant coach/SV Schlebusch), Frank Linde (support), Christian Hausmann (support).
The match will be divided into thirds. During the first break in the game, there will be the obligatory presentation of a cheque. This will be performed by the Bayer 04 managing directors Fernando Carro and Rudi Völler along with Meinolf Sprink, fan and community director. On behalf of the City of Leverkusen, the mayor Uwe Richrath and and city manager Marc Adomat will be at the match along with Manuel Bast, the director of the Leverkusen Community Foundation.
The city players will wear a kit developed especially for this match in the city colours of green and white provided by TIPWIN as the shirt partner for the night. Bayer Gastro will look after the catering requirements on the night..
Anybody unable to make the match who wants to support the victims of the flood disaster in Leverkusen and surrounding areas can make a donation to the following account of the Leverkusen Community Foundation:
Leverkusen hilft: Spendenkonto
DE40 3755 1440 0100 1262 26
Do you want to be at the charity match? Tickets are available from the Bayer 04 online ticket shop HERE. Tickets cost five euros. Here's to a successful night.
The Bayer 04 women’s team secured a win in the friendly during the international break. Without a total of eight international players, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team defeated Bundesliga 2 side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 at the Kurtekotten Training Centre, thanks to goals from Lobke Loonen (1’, penalty), Caroline Kehrer (41') and Valentina Mädl (66').
Show more
Bayer 04 will have to manage without striker Christian Kofane in the coming weeks. The 20-year-old sustained a muscle injury to his left thigh on international duty with the Cameroon national team during the recent international break. This will prevent him from playing in the upcoming Werkself matches.
Show more
FSV Mainz 05 went into the international break on the back of an away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Currently sixth in the table, the Rheinhessen side – who have been impressive on the road – now aim to continue their good start to the Bundesliga campaign at home when they face the Werkself on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). In terms of squad selection, Urs Fischer once again has more options at his disposal. Up front, the Mainz coach is likely to continue relying on what is currently the league’s most successful strike partnership. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
Show more
Fans ask, Carolin Simon answers: As part of Bayer 04’s second Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, the Leverkusen captain took questions from the community. The full-back, who returned to the club this summer after ten years away, set aside an hour and a half for the Q&A session with fans, offering a very personal insight into, amongst other things, her daily life as a footballer and her role as captain, as well as her passion for Pokémon.
Show more
