
The Over 40s cup was suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. All the clubs left in the competition said they wanted to complete the cup by the end of the year with due regard to all hygiene and safety measures.
The Vets team headed off to the Palatinate with a 14-man squad – and they made a perfect start with an early opener scored by Frank Döpper from a Thorsten Judt corner (17’.). The same combination struck on 45 minutes: Döpper headed home a Judt cross.
Judt then settled the result of the cup tie himself in the game played over two 35-minute halves: The former player made it 3-0 with a fine curler with the outside of his foot from 16 yards out (63’) and Judt set up Roman Klossek four minutes later to score the fourth and final goal in front of 250 spectators. “It was a deserved win overall,” said team manager Dirk Dreher. “We were particularly happy with the very friendly reception from the hosts.”
On a positive note: The money generated from the spectators and a tombola was made available to support five-year-old Henry. The boy is seriously ill and the financial aid will help his care. The Bayer 04 Veterans brought a shirt signed by Jonathan Tah and Charles Aránguiz with them for the tombola. Henry was also presented with a current shirt with his name and age on it.
In the next round of the Over 40s cup, Bayer 04 are away to VfR Fehlheim in Southern Hesse. The match is due to be played in October. The date will be announced on bayer04.de.

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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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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