Ballack, who played for Leverkusen between 1998 and 2002 and again from 2010 to 2012, said: “I feel honoured to be able to officially represent Bayer 04 in this capacity. The team is playing incredibly dominant, attractive and successful football this season. I therefore wish the team, the management and the fans a worthy end to this outstanding season.”
CEO Fernando Carro is delighted “that a global star like Michael Ballack is once again representing our colours. We want to further intensify our relationship with him in the future and complete projects together.” Leverkusen's managing director for sport Simon Rolfes, who played alongside the former Germany captain in the national team and at the BayArena, also sees this as a strong sign: “Michael made a significant contribution to turning Bayer 04 into a top club at the turn of the millennium. He and his teammates were able to win over many fans for Bayer 04 with their inspiring football. Michael has left his mark on German football over the years and therefore has great charisma that makes him ideally qualified for this role.”
In addition to Ballack, Rüdiger Vollborn will also take on important representative duties for Bayer 04 in the coming weeks. The legendary goalkeeper, who won the UEFA Cup with the Werkself in 1988 and the DFB Cup in 1993, will officially represent Bayer 04 at the DFB's big Celebration Party on the eve of the final. In addition, Rudi will fulfil numerous media and PR appointments surrounding the final. In addition to Vollborn and Rolfes, all other honorary captains – namely Stefan Kiessling, Bernd Schneider, Ulf Kirsten, Lars Bender and Carsten Ramelow – have been invited to Berlin, as has Jens Nowotny, who played a decisive role as defensive boss in the Werkself's outstanding 2001/02 season. Brazilian Bayer 04 Legend Paulo Sergio will also be on hand to answer questions from various international TV stations.
After starting his career with this year's final opponents Kaiserslautern, Ballack developed into one of the Bundesliga’s best players of his time at Bayer 04 from 1998 to 2002. During this stint, the goalscoring midfielder also gained international renown, and his moves to Bayern Munich and later to Premier League club Chelsea made him a global star.
Despite his defeat with Bayer 04 in 2002, Berlin also has positive connotations for Ballack. He won the final and got to lift the DFB Cup there twice in a row with Bayern in 2004 and 2005.
After Jens Nowotny was officially named a Bayer 04 honorary captain last weekend, the long-standing Werkself player is part of the Leverkusen delegation on the trophy tour to New York City next week from 11 to 14 September. In an interview with bayer04.de, the 50-year-old talked about his expectations ahead of the trip to the metropolis on the East Coast of the USA.
Show moreThe German Football League (DFL) has confirmed the dates and kick-off times for matchdays 6 to 12 of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season. Full details of the Bayer 04 fixtures.
Show moreMarkus Rehm, a long jumper at TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, won the gold medal for the fourth time in succession at the Paralympics on Wednesday.
Show moreThe fixture details for the second round of the DFB Pokal 2024/25 have been confirmed. The home tie for Bayer 04 against second division SV 07 Elversberg is on Tuesday, 29 October with the kick off at 18.00 CET (live on Sky). That was announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday.
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