Happy faces all round: On Thursday morning, the Werkself made their way to the Ranken Jordan rehab facility, which is known as a bridging hospital. Children still needing care before returning home are cared for there.
The Werkself players including Kerem Demirbay, Nadiem Amiri and Karim Bellarabi spent a lot of time with the children, playing and talking to them. Bob Pritts, CEO of the Ranken Jordan Hospital, was impressed and touched at the same time: "It's great to see how the children and players interact with each other. These visits are something really special for the kids. Moments like these help the children enormously and give them a lot of strength." In the past, sports teams from St. Louis like the Blues (ice hockey) and the Cardinals (baseball) have also visited to put a smile on the faces of the children and teenagers.
There was another sporting highlights to round off the #Bayer04USATour: Going to the NHL game between the St. Louis Blues and the Washington Capitals. Watching from the Bayer AG box, Andrey Lunev, Niklas Lomb and Co. witnessed an exciting ice hockey match that St Louis finally won 5-4 on penalties.
Werkself TV: Day five of the #Bayer04USATour
The #Bayer04USATour 2022 ended on Friday with the return flight of the majority of the Bayer 04 delegation. After a last joint lunch it was off on a direct flight from St. Louis to Frankfurt am Main. The Werkself will now enjoy a well-deserved, two-week break from training.
Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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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...
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without goalkeeper Mark Flekken and forward Nathan Tella for the time being.
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After a week in the Algarve, the Bayer 04 Women returned home on Saturday afternoon. The Werkself had six training sessions, two friendlies and a lot of time together as a team. Roberto Pätzold's team will be back in action in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga next Friday for the start of matchday 15.
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"We didn’t make the right decision at the right moments," said captain Robert Andrich after the 1-0 defeat away to TSG Hoffenheim, where Bayer 04 endeavoured to control the game but failed to score. The Werkself also had two enforced substitutions due to injuries. Nevertheless, the coach, captain and debutant Janis Blaswich are positive about the coming weeks. The Werkself review.
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