Stadium announcer Petra ‘Pitti’ Dahl opened the event and acted as the presenter for the evening. After the sponsors were welcomed by the Bayer 04 directors Fernando Carro and Rudi Völler, there was the informative part of the event. In between the three courses served up, last season and the recently completed training camp in Zell am See in Austria were reviewed before coach Peter Bosz, sporting director Simon Rolfes and captain Lars Bender came on stage for an entertaining round of discussions.
Then everybody was on their feet for the table football tournament. The sponsors, Werkself players and the Bayer 04 management were divided up into teams and first played each other in a group stage of four rounds with games of four minutes each way. The Bayer 04 reporter for the visually handicapped, Björn Nass, provided a live commentary for the semi-finals and the final. The 'La Parisienne' team, made up of the two Werkself players Jonathan Tah and Moussa Diaby plus Dr Andreas Eurich, CEO at Barmenia, were the winners. In a shower of confetti, Stefan Kießling presented the trophy to the victors and the evening finished with relaxed discussions and networking.
In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
Show more
Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
Show more
Following the summer break, most of the players are back in Leverkusen. While two Bayer 04 first-team players are still in action at the World Cup, the players present officially kicked off the new season with fitness assessments. At the Werkstatt, the Bayer 04 rehabilitation and training centre, Robert Andrich, Edmond Tapsoba and the rest of the squad worked up quite a sweat in the sweltering summer heat. New signings Afonso Moreira and Kennet Eichhorn also successfully completed the day’s sessions alongside their new team-mates.
Show more
The Werkself return tomorrow, Tuesday 14 July (from 11:00 CEST at the BayArena; live stream on bayer04.de, the Bayer 04 app and YouTube), with new head coach Carles Martínez leading his first training session as part of the Bayer 04 set-up. His coaching team comprises a mix of new and long-standing colleagues.
Show more
The FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico is underway. A total of eight Leverkusen players are taking part in the 23rd World Cup, with 48 teams in the tournament for the first time. Bayer04.de brings you all the latest from Werkself players at the World Cup.
Show more
