
While the players in the starting eleven for the home game against VfB Stuttgart began the week with a video analysis session followed by work in the gym at the BayArena, the unused players and subs were on the training ground. The fans at the open training session were only able to see Julian Brandt, Stefan Kießling, Dominik Kohr, Benny Henrichs, Vladlen Yurchenko, Marlon Frey plus the two keepers Ramazan Özcan and Niklas Lomb. Heiko Herrlich and Co. went through a number of crossing and shooting drills with their players.
Wendell worked with fitness coach Daniel Jouvin on the training ground in a one-on-one session following his ankle injury. According to the medical section, Jonathan Tah is also making progress. As with Joel Pohjanpalo (rehab training after ankle injury), the 22-year-old central defender, who suffered a muscle injury to his hip in the game against Dortmund, completed an individual session at the Werkstatt facility in the morning.
Bayer 04 supporters have another two chances to watch the Werkself train this week – on Tuesday and Wednesday (both at 10.30 CET).

With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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The ‘year after’ the most successful year in the club's history brought many changes at Bayer 04. In an exclusive double interview with bayer04.de shortly before the Christmas break, Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes spoke about building a new team capable of winning trophies, the work of coach Kasper Hjulmand, the young new signings who have quickly developed into key players, and their personal plans for the Christmas holidays. Their outlook for the coming year also shows that the potential is far from exhausted and ambitions remain high.
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A memorable 12 months: 2025 was a year marked by success, intense competition and groundbreaking innovations for the #B04eSports team. After ending the 2024/25 season as runners-up, the Leverkusen-based console pros got down to business in a new, completely restructured season model, in which showdowns rather than divisions were the decisive factor on the road to the final round of the German Club Championship. Bayer 04 quickly earned a place in the history books of the most prestigious competition in German eSports and secured some valuable advantages for the coming year. Bayer04.de takes a look back at 12 months full of passion and the determination to take the next step.
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