After the heatwave of recent weeks, this morning brought much more comfortable temperatures as well as plenty of work for fitness coach Daniel Jouvin: While Heiko Herrlich worked on crosses and headers on a reduced pitch, Charles Aránguiz was back on the training ground for the first time this week.
When the Chilean completed his one-on-one session, his coach 'Giga' moved straight onto the next one: Leon Bailey, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury for the past few days, was also back on the training ground for the first time. The trip to Valencia comes too early for the pair as well as for goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, who also completed an individual session today.
The Werkself fly out to Valencia from Cologne-Bonn Airport on Saturday morning. The friendly at the Estadio Mestalla, that kicks off at 21:30 CET, is the final friendly ahead of the season opener at Pforzheim. The match will be broadcast live on Facebook and on terrestrial TV on Sport 1.
Exciting days for our Jamaican winger: After celebrating his 21st birthday on Thursday, this evening takes him to a special event: The football journal '11 FREUNDE' rated the Jamaican as 'Newcomer of the Season' and the award ceremony takes place tonight at the Flora in Cologne. A familiar face will present the award: Stefan Reinartz will make the laudatory speech .
There was more good news for our new head analyst: Marcel Daum was a father of a son for the second time on Thursday morning. The family of four are all well and we wish them all the best and a great time together.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a loan deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach for Argentinian striker Alejo Sarco. The 20-year-old joins Mönchengladbach with immediate effect for the rest of the season.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. Tonight, 20 January (kick-off: 22:00 local time/21:00 CET), Bayer 04 will not only face a familiar face in Panagiotis Retsos, but also an experienced and successful team in their Greek top-flight opponents. The Olympiacos midfield and forward line in particular are peppered with seasoned veterans from top European clubs - but even they will first have to find solutions against the Werkself defence that has recently performed with aplomb in the UCL. The matchday news.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about anticipation for the game. Werkself player Ibrahim Maza also gave an insight into dealing with the recent setbacks.
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After their first win on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase, Olympiacos are still in with a good chance of reaching the play-offs in the UEFA Champions League. The 2024 UEFA Conference League winners will be looking to go one better in their home match against Bayer 04 this Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), but their stop scorer is unavailable. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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