
The maxim for the event: "Get off your office chairs and put on your trainers. That was the slogan for the B2Run, which was again held in Cologne on Thursday. There was another good turnout from Bayer 04 staff among the 23,000 runners for the third time at this big event. "It was really great fun again," said Jenny Weber, who has now taken over the organisation of the Bayer 04 running group.
The response was similar to last year with some 40 sports-mad Bayer 04 members of staff from all departments taking part in the run, which is one of the biggest in Germany. For the participants in Black and Red, who again prepared for the run under their coach Tatjana Rüber, the start in Cologne is always a special highlight in their sporting calendars. "We're already looking forward to next year's run, said Jenny Weber on behalf of the Bayer 04 group.
The course through the city forest was 5.4 kilometres long and the finishing line was at the RheinEnergie Stadium as usual. A glass of Kölsch beer was raised for the people completing the run and several members of the Leverkusen running group took advantage of the invite to the after-run party in the VIP area at the Cologne Arena. The star guest at the event was B2Run ambassador Magdalena Neuner, double Olympic Gold medal winner and twelve-time biathlon world champion.

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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