The Werkself head coach welcomed his players back to the training ground on Wednesday morning. With high summer temperatures around 30 degrees, Jonathan Tah and Leon Bailey were both back with their team-mates. After their international appearances at the U21 European Championships and the Gold Cup, the two players were given an extended break and are only now returning to training. Tah, who completed the performance tests at the BayArena on Tuesday, could hardly be wait to be back on training ground with his fellow players. "The holiday did me a power of good but in the last few days I’ve started to get the itch. It's great we’re getting started again," said the 23-year-old who was a spectator on Sunday night at the BayArena for the charity match organised by Dirk Nowitzki and Mick Schumacher. The captain of the Germany U21 team is also happy about his new neighbour in the dressing room: Moussa Diaby. "It definitely helps him having someone who can speak to him in French. I translate and I'm happy to help him," said Tah who can speak French as his mother comes from the Ivory Coast.
Leon Bailey also clearly enjoyed his first training session of the pre-season. "I really enjoyed my holiday. Being back in my home country and spending time with the family felt great," said the Jamaican. Participation with his home nation in the Gold Cup, with Leon making his first full international appearance on 17 June against Honduras (3-2), was a good experience – in spite of missing out on the final. Bailey is now focused on the pre-season and the campaign that begins in just three weeks. "It feels great to be back here. I've really missed being able to train with the lads, have a joke and hang round with them."
In addition to the recently injured Julian Baumgartlinger (inflammation in his foot), Joel Pohjanpalo was also back on the pitch on Wednesday morning. The Finn was kicked on the right foot in the friendly against Eibar on Saturday and he had to be substituted. Charles Aránguiz, who also was given extended leave due to his participation in the Copa América with Chile, is expected to return to Leverkusen in the next few days.
The Werkself are training at 9 am on Thursday and Friday and on Saturday at 3.30 pm ahead of the end of this week of training on Sunday with the double matchday against Heracles Almelo (15.00 CET) and the Vitesse Arnhem (17.00 CET, both games broadcast live on bayer04.de, Facebook and YouTube) at the Kurtekotten Academy.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
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No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
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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..
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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.
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