The Black and Red Champions League special edition is here. Werkself Magazin number 38 appears in time for the opening game for Bayer 04 in the Champions League. This has already been sent out to members of the Werkself by post and now the magazine is available online. It contains a big interview with head coach Gerardo Seoane, contains information on the Champions League campaign in 2022/23 and there is also everything on the history of Bayer 04 in Europe's premier club competition.
Click here for the free online edition
UEFA have appointed Irfan Peljto as the match official the meeting with Club Brugge. The Champions League match is the first game involving the Werkself under the 38-year-old referee from Bosnia-Herzegovina who has been a FIFA official since 2015. At the Jan Breydel Stadium, Peljto will be assisted by his fellow countrymen Senad Ibrisimbegović and Davor Beljo, with the Italian Marco Guida as the VAR official. Have a good game.
Club Brugge and Bayer 04 meet in a European competition for the second time. The last game in the Champions League group stage in 2006/07 produced a 1-1 draw with Bernd Schneider giving the Black and Reds the lead in the first half. For the Belgian side, this will be the tenth time in Europe's premier club competition. However, Club Brugge have not progressed through the group stage in all of their nine previous attempts, more than any other club.
Comparing the start to the season by the two clubs, the Belgians appear to have upper hand: 16 points in the first seven games in the Jupiter Pro League sees last year's champions of Belgium third in the table at the moment. Despite many new signings, Club Brugge have been prolific in front of goal (17 goals). It remains to be seen how the Belgians will perform against the Werkself tonight. Further information on our opponents from West Flanders can be found in the analysis of our next opponents.
Anybody unable to make the trip to Belgium can follow the audio broadcast on the Werkself Radio from 30 minutes before kick-off. Cedric Pick and Niko Hartmann will keep fans up-to-date with the action in the game against the Belgian side. You can also keep in touch via live text updates. Both the radio and update service can be found at bayer04.de as well as on the Bayer 04 app.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended Abdoulaye Faye’s contract by a further year to 30 June 2031. During the 2026/27 season, the talented defender will play for Celta Vigo on loan without an option to buy. The 21-year-old Senegalese is set to feature in La Liga and the UEFA Europa League with last season’s sixth-placed side in Spain.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme on day one (Sunday 2 August) includes a media round with managing director sport Simon Rolfes, free time for the team after the friendly against Rot-Weiss Essen and before an intensive week of training begins, as well as a coffee get-together where CEO Fernando Carro and Rolfes met around 100 fans in the afternoon.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed Kerim Alajbegovic’s transfer to Italian record champions Juventus. The club brought the 18-year-old attacking player back to Leverkusen this summer via a buy-back option, following a season at Red Bull Salzburg. Until his move to Austria, the Bosnia international had been playing for Bayer 04’s Under-19s.
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A warm welcome to the Weimarer Land, Bayer 04! The Werkself moved into their accommodation for this year’s training camp on Saturday evening. In Blankenhain, Thuringia, head coach Carles Martínez’s team have a programme of gruelling training sessions – several of which will be open to fans – and team-building activities lined up for the next six days. We’ll be following the Werkself up close and providing you with exclusive insights, quotes, photos and videos from the training camp.
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With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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