While the last three players named, who played for 90 minutes on Sunday, spent their time working in the gym at the BayArena, Lukas Hradecky joined his team-mates on the training ground in cold temperatures. The recently decimated Werkself squad should be back up to strength on Thursday. "The most important thing is that everybody comes back fit and well," said Heiko Herrlich – above all in view of the important home game against VfB Stuttgart on Friday night (23 November, 20.30 CET). "We are well aware we have ground to make up – we want to produce a top performance for our fans," said the Werkself head coach. He will probably be able to call on Karim Bellarabi again following his muscle problems as he trained on Tuesday morning without any after-effects.
Autumn is here! The season is clearly here as evidenced by the increasingly bald trees and not least by the colourful foliage. Talking about being colourful! After the BayArena was lit up in purple last Saturday To mark World Prematurity Day, the Werkself ground will be lit up in orange on Sunday night between 17.00 and 22.0 CET. The reason is a campaign by the Zonta Clubs , "Orange your city" on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women with the Werkself involved on the initiative of the Zonta Club Leverkusen. Across the city, in addition to the BayArena, the water tower on the motorway junction, the 'Leverkugel' of the Sparkasse and the crossings of the B8 at the Chempark will also be lit up in orange.
The team captain Lars Bender was a guest on the Werkself Podcast on Tuesday afternoon with the presenter Cedrick Pick. The tenth episode saw the 28-year-old, who has made 282 appearances for Bayer 04 since 2009, look back at his whole career – in particular the time with the Werkself. In addition to his relationship with the club and the city of Leverkusen, the defensive all-rounder also provided insights into winning the silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games as well as missing out on the 2014 World Cup. The podcast will soon be available.
With his 60 Bundesliga goals, Kevin Volland has demonstrated he really has the ability to shoot with football boots on. Following Lukas Hradecky in October, the Werkself number 31 took part in the Sky Sport programme "My 11 - The playlist of the football stars" and in conversation with the presenter Maik Nöcker he revealed in a relaxed atmosphere the songs he most likes to hear and what they mean to him.
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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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.
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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.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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