"We have signed a very experienced player in Santiago Arias who will quickly be able to help us," declared the sporting managing director Rudi Völler."This transfer is important for the structure of our team due to the large number of fixtures over the coming weeks."
Bayer 04 sporting director Simon Rolfes has worked hard over recent weeks to bring in Arias and he sees in the Colombian a player, "who has proved himself at a top European club. The quality of the Spanish league is well known," said Rolfes, "as is Atlético Madrid's. Santiago will be a key player in our team with his footballing ability and his mentality.”
For the right-footer, who will wear the number two shirt for the Werkself, the move to Germany is "a fantastic opportunity to take on a new challenge after two great and successful years in Madrid. Bayer 04 Leverkusen are one of the best clubs in the Bundesliga with a very good reputation in Spain. I experienced how football's played here with Atlético in the Champions League," Arias explained. "That's why I'm very much looking forward to the German league and my new teammates. We have a team that can go a long way – and I want to help achieve that."
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
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No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
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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..
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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.
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