
The Turkish team, who are currently preparing for the new campaign in nearby Leogang, will be playing their second of three friendlies against German opposition. On Sunday they drew 1-1 with second division Erzgebirge Aue and, after the game against the Werkself, Antalyaspor will finish their training camp with a match against Hamburg SV on Sunday.
Antalyaspor Kulübu, to give the club its full name, was founded in 1966 and for a long time has been up and down in the top two Turkish divisions. The last promotion to the Süper Lig was only two years ago. The club has been reorganised since then. Businessman Gültekin Gencer took over the role as president and invested a lot of money in his hometown club. That has been used to make some star signings – above all Samuel Eto'o. The Cameroonian, who won the Champions League three times with Barcelona and Inter Milan, is the marquee player and captain of Antalyaspor. The 36-year-old striker, who was voted African footballer of the year four times, still has ambitions in the holiday paradise on the Turkish Riviera in the autumn of his career.
Werder Bremen in the UEFA Cup
The fifth-place finish for Antalyaspor last term represents the best season in the club's history and they narrowly missed out on qualifying for Europe. The next opponents for the Werkself have appeared three times on the European stage in the club's history: In the 1990s the club took part twice in the now-defunct UI Cup and in 2000 – with the German players Mauricio Gaudino and Dirk Schuster in the squad and Rüdiger Abramcik as coach - they qualified for the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) by appearing in the Turkish domestic cup final. That is the biggest success for Antalyaspor to date. They were drawn against Werder Bremen in the first round but a surprising 2-0 win in the first leg was overturned in the return match at the Weser Stadium with a 6-0 mauling and an early exit from the competition.
The team, coached by the former Turkey international Riza Calimbay, are looking to return to the European stage as soon as possible. That's why the captain Eto'o has notable support up front: The Frenchman Jérémy Ménez recently left Girondins Bordeaux for Antalya. The 30-year-old has previously played in attack for Monaco, Roma, Paris St Germain and AC Milan as well as appearing for France in the 2012 European Championships. Other well-known names in the Turkish team's squad are the 18-time Brazil international Sandro, the former FC Nürnberg player Ondrej Celustka as well as central striker Deniz Kadah, who grew up in Germany and played five times in the Bundesliga for Hannover 96 in 2013.

The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
Show more
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
Show more
The Bundesliga is back. On Saturday 29 August (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself are away to SV 07 Elversberg on matchday 1 of the new season. Ahead of the clash at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about the importance of a successful start and the motivation of the league newcomers from the Saarland.
Show more
On Friday afternoon, it will be decided which eight of the 36 participating teams Bayer 04 will face in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in 2026/27. At the draw in Monaco (live on UEFA.com), the Werkself will be drawn against two teams from each of the four pots, allocated according to the UEFA club coefficient. A match against an opponent from the same country is ruled out, as is facing more than two clubs from the same national association. Here’s a look at the pots and potential opponents.
Show more