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.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a loan deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach for Argentinian striker Alejo Sarco. The 20-year-old joins Mönchengladbach with immediate effect for the rest of the season.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. Tonight, 20 January (kick-off: 22:00 local time/21:00 CET), Bayer 04 will not only face a familiar face in Panagiotis Retsos, but also an experienced and successful team in their Greek top-flight opponents. The Olympiacos midfield and forward line in particular are peppered with seasoned veterans from top European clubs - but even they will first have to find solutions against the Werkself defence that has recently performed with aplomb in the UCL. The matchday news.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about anticipation for the game. Werkself player Ibrahim Maza also gave an insight into dealing with the recent setbacks.
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After their first win on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase, Olympiacos are still in with a good chance of reaching the play-offs in the UEFA Champions League. The 2024 UEFA Conference League winners will be looking to go one better in their home match against Bayer 04 this Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), but their stop scorer is unavailable. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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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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