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.
The Black and Reds kick off the new Bundesliga campaign today, Saturday 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg – and the Werkself will come up against a familiar face who is currently causing a stir at ‘Elv’. For an affordable and easy journey to the Saarland, the 1,600 travelling fans can still use the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Today’s matchday news..
Show more
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
Show more
The Bundesliga is back. On Saturday 29 August (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself are away to SV 07 Elversberg on matchday 1 of the new season. Ahead of the clash at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about the importance of a successful start and the motivation of the league newcomers from the Saarland.
Show more
On Friday afternoon, it will be decided which eight of the 36 participating teams Bayer 04 will face in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in 2026/27. At the draw in Monaco (live on UEFA.com), the Werkself will be drawn against two teams from each of the four pots, allocated according to the UEFA club coefficient. A match against an opponent from the same country is ruled out, as is facing more than two clubs from the same national association. Here’s a look at the pots and potential opponents.
Show more
After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
Show more
