Manuel Hartmann, managing director of match operations at DFB GmbH & Co. KG, presented the trophy to Michael Meuthen from the Bayer 04 groundsmen at the 16th information meeting for groundsmen in Leipzig on Monday. Borussia Dortmund’s reserves were also honoured for the playing surface at the Rote Erde stadium in the men's 3. Liga.
“The Bayer 04 Leverkusen groundsmen did another great job, with a score of 9.03 out of a possible 10 speaking for itself. It’s a special achievement to be honoured for the fifth year in a row,” said Hartmann. “We hope that clubs will continue to strive for outstanding pitch quality in order to create the best possible conditions for attractive matches.”
After each league match, the team managers of the home and visiting clubs and the referees are asked to use the ‘Greenkeeping Tool’ to rate the quality of the pitch using a 10-point system. An overall Bundesliga table is compiled from the individual ratings. Last year, Bayer 04 won Pitch of the Year in the men's competition for the second time in a row for the turf in the BayArena, the third award for head groundsman Georg Schmitz and his team. This year, the Leverkusen pitch came second behind Leipzig's Red Bull Arena.
Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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A rematch in Athens: On Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), the Werkself face Greek double winners Olympiacos for the second time this season at the Karaiskakis Stadium. After the encounter in the league phase, it's now time for the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-offs. Ahead of the game, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about how his side will approach the clash, while captain Robert Andrich explained how the team will try to dampen the atmosphere in the stadium tomorrow.
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With the much-celebrated 2-1 derby win against 1. FC Köln, the Bayer 04 Women underlined their credentials as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. Anyone wishing to support the Werkself in the stadium in the race for third place can now purchase tickets for the home match against FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Tickets are also still available for the upcoming clash against TSG Hoffenheim at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 22 February. The latest information at a glance.
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Let's give it our all one more time! Today, Tuesday 17 February (live on the VBL Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the #B04eSports team play the remaining three preliminary round matches of the fifth and final showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. The Leverkusen console pros go up against 1. FC Nürnberg, 1. FC Magdeburg and Bayern Munich, aiming to secure their place in the offline knockout round and pick up valuable points for the overall table and the battle to get into the final event for the German Club Championship. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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