The Werkself women’s team entertained FC Köln early on Sunday evening in a the first friendly at Kurtekotten. Achim Feifel rang the changes in three 30-minute thirds. “We wanted to see how the different teams worked together on the pitch. Every player was able to play in her favourite position,” said the head coach. The Bayer 04 women took the lead on 38 minutes – the visitors put the ball in their own net from a corner. “We were pretty dangerous overall from corners and I liked that,” summed up Feifel, who does see the need for his defence to be more organised during transition moments. Sandra Maria Jessen doubled the lead on 52 minutes from a counter attack. FC Köln pulled a goal back from the penalty spot five minutes later – the referee spotted a ball by Nina Brüggemann. The game was abandoned on 76 minutes due to a thunderstorm.
The coaching staff were able to get a first look at their players after the summer break at the weekend: The Bundesliga women’s team beat the Bayer 04 women’s second team 5-0. Milena Nikolic (51’+ 54’), Henrike Sahlmann (60’), Jessica Wich (69’) and Juliane Wirtz (76’) scored the goals.
The first members of the Bayer 04 women’s squad met up at Kurtekotten at 07.15 CEST on Monday morning. Following coronavirus tests, the team bus was loaded and Achim Feifel and his squad headed off for a one-week training camp in Westerwald. The team will be based on Wiesensee until Sunday, 23 August. “The hotel is quite secluded and we will be able to fully focus on training and, above all, work on fitness and tactics. There will also be team building activities – that helps bonding,” said Feifel.
There will be up to three coaching sessions a day in Westerwald and there should have been a friendly against the Standard Liege women’s team at the end of the week on Saturday, 22 August. However, due to coronavirus restrictions, the Belgian top-flight side are not allowed to travel abroad and the game has been called off at short notice. As an alternative, the women’s team will play an internal eleven-a-side practice match.
With the exception of the injured Pauline Wimmer (torn cruciate) and Nicole Banecki (back problems), all the players will be at the training camp. Antonia Göransson has returned home to Sweden. The contract with the 29-year-old has been terminated by mutual agreement. Göransson will play for the Swedish club Växjö DFF this season.
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.
Show more
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.
Show more
Last-minute ecstasy, huge disappointment and a historic performance on the European stage - 2025 was a real emotional roller coaster, especially for the U19s. A rousing run in the knockout phase secured the team a place in the final of the German championships, where they lost by the narrowest of margins. Despite the departure of several key players, the young Werkself team quickly regained their usual strength and qualified for the knockout rounds in the UEFA Youth League for the first time at the end of the year. In 2025, youngsters Jeremiah Mensah and Montrell Culbreath made their debuts in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. The other youth teams also contributed great performances and a number of trophies to the collective Black and Red success, while the successful Bayer 04 Future Kids project broke new ground. Read on for the 2025 review of the youth teams.
Show more
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...
Show more
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.
Show more
