Perhaps one or two may have noticed when driving by. After the BayArena, the town hall, the Bayer Erholunghaus and Schloss Morsbroich started flying the flag for Bayer 04 this week, another Leverkusen landmark is adorned in club colours. This afternoon, a huge black and red banner was lowered down the water tower – as support and motivation for Saturday's game.
There was a unique opportunity for the employees of the Bayer 04 main sponsor: Honorary captain Ulf Kirsten grabbed the DFB Cup of 93 and set off by car in the direction of the Barmenia HQ in Wuppertal. There he gave the members of staff the chance to have a photo taken with the cup. To be precise, the trophy was a lifelike replica. The real trophy is handed to the winners of the tournament each year. The burnished trophy is made of sterling silver and weighs over six kilogrammes and has a material value of €35,000 – the actual value is much higher.
What were current Werkself players doing on 12 June 1993? We asked Karim Bellarabi Kevin Volland and other teammates – about whether they could actually remember anything of that historic night when they were children or had just been born. The answers can be seen on the '19:04 – Die Show', broadcast at 19.04 CET on YouTube and Facebook. This addition will also feature one of our cup winners of 1993 – this time it's Heiko Herrlich. Furthermore, in part three of the 'Road to #B04RLIN, we look back at the Round of 16 tie against VfB Stuttgart, go over to the water tower in Leverkusen and show photos from our fans from previous cup finals there are a few gems amongst them!
He has already grabbed the record as the youngest ever Bundesliga goalscorer this season – if he plays in the DFB Cup final, Florian Wirtz, at the age of 17, two months and one day, would also be the youngest player ever to appear in the DFB Cup final. The current record holder is Julian Draxler (17 years, eight months, one day) who was the youngest player to date in this competition when he played in the 2011 final for Schalke 04. Wirtz' U17 national coach Christian Wück places great store on the Bayer 04 youngster as he revealed on dfb.de: "Here at the DFB, we've told him he's on the right path to become a regular first choice in the Bundesliga or even later on play for the U21s or the national team but that is logically a bit further down the road."
In this hectic cup week, this date definitely not be forgotten: Today (1 July) is the 116th birthday of Bayer 04. It all started with a letter when two members of staff Wilhelm Hausschild and August Kuhlmann asked for support to set up a works gymnastics club in February 1903. On 1 July 1904, the ‘Turn- und Spielverein der Farbenfabriken vorm. Friedrich Bayer & Co. in Leverkusen’, TuS 04 for short, was born. Here's to many more black and red years!
"The players of Bayer 04 and FC Bayern München will not appear in public before or after the game to celebrate with fans or sign autographs," announced the German Football Association (DFB) on its website and appealed to the fans: "We therefore advise and ask all fans not to travel to Berlin." The DFB also urgently advises against gathering in and around the Olympic Stadium and also asked fans to avoid meeting at kiosks, pubs and restaurants in the immediate area of the stadium. Bayer 04 and the City of Leverkusen have already decided there will be no celebrations in Leverkusen due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Kicking off the new season with a fresh look: Bayer 04, in collaboration with sportswear manufacturer New Balance, has unveiled the official kit for Leverkusen’s e-Sports players for the coming season. The jersey is now available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.
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Paulo Sergio and Bayer 04 have enjoyed close ties since the Werkself training camp in his native Brazil last summer. The club legend is in charge of the Bayer 04 Soccer Academy, which opened in the summer of 2025, and he has also been at this year’s training camp in the Weimarer Land. As well as interacting with the many fans who travelled to the camp, the 1994 World Cup winner used the time to plan the next steps for the Academy together with club officials. In an interview with bayer04.de, Sergio spoke about the project’s future development, the upcoming visit by young Academy players to Leverkusen, and plans for the coming months in Germany and Brazil.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day five (Thursday 6 August) is as follows: The squad have the final open session of the training camp in the morning. After lunch, there will be a team event.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day four (Wednesday 5 August) is all about training. The day begins with a gruelling open training session – new signing Miguel Gutiérrez also takes part. A second session follows in the afternoon, this time behind closed doors.
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At the training camp in the Weimarer Land region, Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez and his long-standing assistant Pol García talk about their first few weeks with the Werkself, their expectations of their own work, the coaching staff and the squad, as well as the style of football they want the team to play. They emphasise the importance of a winning mentality within the team, comment on cultural and personal differences in the world of football, and outline their goals for the coming season...
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