04 days after the friendly at Wuppertaler SV (24 July), Bayer 04 are away to Fortuna Sittard who secured their return to the Dutch first division (Eredivisie) at the end of April. The club from near the border with Germany, finished last season as runners-up to the Ajax Amsterdam reserves (not entitled to be promoted) – a position that few would have predicted given their previous finishes (19, 16 and 17). On top of that, the club parted company during the campaign with their coach following disagreements with the former Nigeria international Sundaj Oliseh (43, also at Borussia Dortmund). However, under Portuguese interim coach Cláudio Braga (43),Fortuna Sittard remained on track to return to the top flight in Holland after a break of 16 years with a young team with an average age of 22.6 years.
Dutchman René Eijer (55) takes over as coach for the new campaign. The former Vitesse Arnhem player will have to manage without key player and captain Perr Schuurs. 30 June sees the end of loan deal of the 18-year-old Sittard homegrown player from league rivals Ajax Amsterdam. The club, founded in 1968, have produced a host of famous players with Huub Stevens (1970 to 1975), former Bayer 04 player Erik Meijer (1988 to 1989) and Mark van Bommel (1992 to 1999) starting their professional careers at Sittard.
The club play their home games at the Fortuna Sittard Stadium (capacity 12,500). The match against Bayer 04 is on 28 July at 18.00 CET.
After the friendly in Sittard, the Werkself pre-season includes games at SV Rosbach/Verscheid (18 July), Oberliga side Sportfreunde Siegen (21 July), Regional League Wuppertaler SV (24 July) and Spanish top-flight club Valencia (11 August).
In Germany, the temperatures are currently around zero, leaving even professional footballers freezing - but not the Bayer 04 Women. Roberto Pätzold's team have fled the cold to the south and are preparing for the second half of the season at a training camp in the Algarve, almost 2,000 kilometres away from home as the crow flies. The Leverkusen squad landed in Faro on Saturday morning and have already completed the first three training sessions over the weekend.
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It was a disappointing Saturday night. The Werkself lost 4-1 to VfB Stuttgart to start the new year on Bundesliga matchday 16 in 2025/26, a result that left both players and fans disappointed. "We played without any passion," said Alejandro Grimaldo honestly afterwards. Teammate Jarell Quansah was even more self-critical, emphasising: "We were miles off it in the first half. You can't put in a performance like that, especially in front of our own fans and I can only apologise to them, to be honest." Read on for the reaction, facts and stats from the clash with VfB Stuttgart in the Werkself review.
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Women’s team forward Paulina Bartz is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen to play for Hamburg SV until the end of the season. The 20-year-old, whose contract runs to 2027, joins the Bundesliga newcomers on loan until the summer.
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Jarell Quansah and Alejandro Grimaldo speak to Werkself-TV following Bayer 04's 4-1 defeat to VfB Stuttgart on Bundesliga Matchday 16...
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