Due to organisational reasons, the first friendly against third division SV Wehen Wiesbaden on Wednesday, 14 July will be played behind closed doors at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre. Anybody wanting to watch the first Werkself match of the summer live from 18.00 CEST, can watch the game on the Bayer 04 YouTube channel or on Sport1.
Following the training camp (16-23 July), the team led by new head coach Gerardo Seoane will play another two matches in Leverkusen. Both the game against the Dutch top-flight side FC Utrecht (28 July, 16.00 CEST) and the meeting with the Spanish La Liga club Celta Vigo (31 July, 16.00 CEST) will be played at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium.
If the coronavirus pandemic situation remains stable in Leverkusen then it is possible that fans may return for the two friendlies. Spectators will have to be vaccinated, recuperated or have a negative test. In addition, no away fans are allowed to attend either game. Bayer 04 will publish further information on any access procedures immediately before the two matches.
“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
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It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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