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 Golden Boy Top 100 traditionally lists Europe’s most promising young players. In the latest update, published to mark the start of the new season, four current Werkself players – alongside loanee Francis Onyeka – feature on the list. This means Bayer 04 have the most players in contention of any Bundesliga club.
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Goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe will continue to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen next season. The loan of the Germany U23 international, who joined from Liverpool in the winter, has been extended by a further year.
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The Bayer 04 delegation, led by Fernando Carro, CEO, concluded their multi-day trip to Brazil with a visit to the community-based organisation Bola Pra Frente in Rio de Janeiro – founded by former Werkself player Jorginho. During the visit, Bayer 04 committed to extending support for the Bola Pra Frente project for a further five years. In addition, Jorginho, a member of the Brazil 1994 World Cup-winning squad, was named Bayer 04’s second official club legend. With the visit to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the club has strengthened the relationships built up over the years in one of Bayer 04’s most important international markets.
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Ten years after retiring as a player, Kristina Sundov is returning to the Bayer 04 Women’s team as assistant coach. The 39-year-old former Croatia international takes over from Remzi Kahraman, who has taken up a new challenge abroad. She has been given a contract to 30 June 2028.
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The training pitches at the BayArena are already buzzing with activity again, even before training officially begins next week. On Monday morning, a small group from the Werkself first-team squad completed a session lasting around an hour. Both new and familiar faces were present.
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