After two and a half weeks training at home following individual plans and the start of working in small groups at the BayArena on 1 April, the head coach welcomed his team back as a group to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. With the exception of Kevin Volland, who is in rehab training following an ankle injury, all the first-team players were back on the pitch.
The Werkself now have just over a week to prepare for the first game away to Werder Bremen on Monday 18 May with a 20.30 CET kick-off. Over the next few days it will be about getting back up to speed as quickly as possible and, above all, to gather strength for the busy fixture programme facing the teams in the Bundesliga.
"It feels good to be able to complete a normal full training session. And these sessions are important to get back in a competitive frame of mind," said Jonathan Tah. "I welcome the fact the games are starting again next week. Now we have a concrete target we can work to. Excitement is increasing and motivation is high."
The Germany international is not yet ready to talk about normality. "We're tested regularly. And we answer questions on our state of health every morning. And the regulations relating to hygiene and distancing our ever-present. We're very aware that it's a special situation and that we carry a special responsibility as professional footballers. The politicians have given us the privilege of being able to complete the season. We have to, and want to, justify that through discipline and level-headed behaviour."
Images from today's full training session:
Video game producer Electronic Arts (EA) has announced the nominees for the Men's and Women's Team of the Year (TOTY) for EA Sports FC 26. With Patrik Schick and Alejandro Grimaldo for the men and Vanessa Fudalla for the women, there are three Bayer 04 players included. Fans of the Black-and-Reds can vote for each top XI of 2025 from now until 18:59 CET on Monday 12 January.
Show more
The long-standing successful collaboration between Bayer 04 and the transport service provider wupsi GmbH has been expanded: From January 2026, 100 wupsi bikes with Bayer 04 branding will be available for hire throughout the city of Leverkusen. They will complement the many existing offers and services that provide key support, especially for fans travelling to and from home matches at the BayArena.
Show more
The Werkself are back! Following the two-week winter break, head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team began the new year with an open session on Sunday. After Robert Andrich and his teammates arrived in Leverkusen yesterday for the official check-in, they got back down to business a day later in front of around 1,200 fans at the Ulrich Haberland Stadion. The report from the Werkself's first session of 2026.
Show more
In her debut season of 2024/25, Cornelia Kramer immediately became the top scorer for Bayer 04 Women. However, the Danish national team striker was stopped by an injury at the start of the new season. Now, just in time before the end of last year, she is fit again – and has extended her contract early until 2027. In this interview, the 23-year-old talks about the reasons for her decision and looks ahead.
Show more
