“I will never forget this day,” said the happy Verena Kümper (30). Verena and her partner Alexander (33) both said yes in face masks in the centre circle at the BayArena on Thursday. “It was great to be on the pitch. We put the coronavirus crisis out of our minds for that moment and just focused on each other.”
30 April is not only the date of the wedding of the Leverkusen couple but also the date of when they first met three years ago. The Kümpers got to know each other in Saarbrücken where they were working on their doctorates. At the end of April 2017 they came back from a walk in the Saarbrücken forest as a couple. Verena and Alexander have been living in the Leverkusen district of Opladen for the past year.
A lot has happened since then: The couple found out that Verena was pregnant just before Christmas in 2019. “We spoke to the registry office because we wanted to get married before the baby is born. And as soon as possible so that Verena can still get into her wedding dress,” explained Alexander with a smile. One of the first dates available was – fittingly – 30 April. The marriage venue: the BayArena. Plans were quickly put into action. Until the coronavirus pandemic put a spanner in the works.
The couple had to cancel their planned wedding ceremony in a restaurant on the Wupper and instead deal with the regulations for the wedding: Temperatures taken on the wedding day, face masks for the wedding vow, maintaining the social distance of 1.5 metres to the registrar. “On the wedding day itself we were able to concentrate on ourselves. The organisation of the event by BayArena+ ran smoothly; we were presented with a cake from the club,” said Verena Kümper.
The couple were linked to relatives from the ceremony, via a mobile phone on a tripod. That was followed by the obligatory wedding photos on the pitch – and the wedding couple were able to take off their face masks for the traditional kiss. All in all, Verena and Alexander Kümper were very happy with the wedding at a venue where Bundesliga football is played.
Bayer 04 have fond memories of their encounters with Heidenheim, including a resounding 6-0 win in the reverse fixture. Kasper Hjulmand’s side would very much like to produce a similarly clinical display as they now head to the Voith-Arena for Matchday 27 on Saturday (15:30 CET). But they come up against a team fighting for their Bundesliga lives at the bottom of the table, 10 points adrift of safety with time running out. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
Show more
The Bayer 04 Women welcome FC Carl Zeiss Jena to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday night in a white retro look - and in a unique Bayer 04 ‘50 Years of Fan Clubs’ special edition jersey. In sporting terms, head coach Roberto Pätzold's team will face the Bundesliga's bottom team at 18:30 CET looking to keep their chances of third place in the table alive with six games left to play.
Show more
Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action this weekend. Following their elimination in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, the Werkself are away to FC Heidenheim 1846 on Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET) on Bundesliga matchday 27. Ahead of the clash in the eastern Swabian Alps, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the fixture and the chances of qualifying for the Champions League next term.
Show more
A quick look at the table shows the situation at FC Heidenheim is serious. The Bundesliga bottom club are already ten points behind the play-off spot with their backs to the wall in sporting terms. With eight games left to play, avoiding relegation appears to be a mission impossible. Nevertheless, they are far from flying the white flag at the Schlossberg ahead of the clash with the Werkself this Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without the two strikers in the immediate future. Caroline Kehrer suffered a torn ligament in her right knee and Amy Wrigge tore her cruciate ligament.
Show more
