The team have been dreaming of the first appearance in a cup final in the club's history. Verena Hagedorn is also well aware of this focus. "Everybody in the team is on fire and can hardly wait to achieve the big target on Sunday," said the 34-year-old. And the new head coach, who last week took over the helm from caretaker coach Malte Dresen, is confident that her team can clear this hurdle. "Clearly, Sand are definitely better placed in the Bundesliga than us but I believe we can compete on equal terms. We definitely have the chance of winning the match on Sunday to go through to the final," declared Hagedorn.
The former assistant to Germany coach Steffi Jones has used the first 10 days in a new job to get a good look a new squad. "I've settled in well and had a lot of discussions. The job is great fun and I'm looking forward to it. I found a strong team at Bayer 04 that has the potential to improve," said Verena Hagedorn. The fact that the Bundesliga game against Sand at Kurtekotten ended in a 3-0 defeat four weeks ago weeks ago does not have an undue influence on her: "We're going into Sundays game in an absolutely positive frame of mind and will try to cut out the mistakes that led to the defeat against Sand in the league. And the Cup is also a completely different competition compared with the battle for points in the league.
Clean sheets to date
Bayer 04 have yet to concede in the DFB Cup this season with clean cheats in the first four rounds: 4-0 in Niederkirchen, 4-0 in Saarbrücken, 5-0 against Jena and 2-0 at Cloppenburg with the results on the way to the semi-final. Sand, who made the final last season losing 2-1 against VfL Wolfsburg, qualified for the last four with a 3-1 win in Wetzlar, a 4-0 victory at Schott Mainz, a 3-0 success at Weinberg as well as a 1-0 result at Bremen.
"It will be important for us to enjoy playing the game," said Hagedorn who sees possession and passing play important components in her work at Bayer 04. It remains to be seen whether there are any absentees for the match against Sand. "There is a slight doubt about one or two players," said the coach. That applies particularly to Rebecca Knaak who is struggling with an ankle injury.
Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
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Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
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High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
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