Heiko Herrlich has opted not to have a training camp and instead will prepare his team for the second half of the season in Leverkusen – training restarts on Tuesday, 2 January 2018 (15.30 CET) with an open session.
Two friendlies have been arranged before Bayer 04 open the second half of the Bundesliga campaign when Bayern Munich visit the BayArena on Friday 12 January (20.30 CET). Second division SpVgg Greuther Fürth are the visitors at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on 5 January (14.00 CET). That could see a reunion with former Bayer 04 player Roberto Hilbert who is now under contract at the Bavarian club. The Werkself have another friendly a day later on 6 January – this time against third division Preußen Münster (14.00 CET, Ulrich Haberland Stadium).
Bayer 04 are also planning another two friendlies in January to be fully prepared for the 2017/18 campaign run-in: The day after the game against Bayern, the Werkself will play third division Sportfreunde Lotte (13 January, 11.00 CET, Ulrich Haberland Stadium) – the club that caused an upset last season when knocked Bayer 04 out of the DFB Cup. Three days after the league match at TSG Hoffenheim (20 January), the Werkself take on Regional League outfit Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (23 January, 11.00 CET, Ulrich Haberland Stadium) in the fourth friendly in January.
Tuesday 2 January: Training restarts (15. 30 CET)
Friday 5 January: Friendly against SpVgg Greuther Fürth (14 .00 CET, Ulrich Haberland Stadium)
Saturday 6 January: Friendly against Preußen Münster (14.00 CET, Ulrich Haberland Stadium)
Friday 12 January: Second half of season opener against Bayern Munich (20.30 CET, BayArena)
Saturday 13 January: Friendly against SF Lotte (11.00 CET, Ulrich Haberland Stadium)
Saturday 20 January: Bundesliga fixture at TSG Hoffenheim (15.30 CET, Rhein Neckar Arena)
Tuesday 23 January: Friendly against RW Oberhausen (11.00 CET, Ulrich Haberland Stadium)
Sunday 28 January: Bundesliga fixture against Mainz 05 (15.30 CET, BayArena)
The Bayer 04 women’s team secured a win in the friendly during the international break. Without a total of eight international players, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team defeated Bundesliga 2 side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 at the Kurtekotten Training Centre, thanks to goals from Lobke Loonen (1’, penalty), Caroline Kehrer (41') and Valentina Mädl (66').
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without striker Christian Kofane in the coming weeks. The 20-year-old sustained a muscle injury to his left thigh on international duty with the Cameroon national team during the recent international break. This will prevent him from playing in the upcoming Werkself matches.
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FSV Mainz 05 went into the international break on the back of an away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Currently sixth in the table, the Rheinhessen side – who have been impressive on the road – now aim to continue their good start to the Bundesliga campaign at home when they face the Werkself on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). In terms of squad selection, Urs Fischer once again has more options at his disposal. Up front, the Mainz coach is likely to continue relying on what is currently the league’s most successful strike partnership. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
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Fans ask, Carolin Simon answers: As part of Bayer 04’s second Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, the Leverkusen captain took questions from the community. The full-back, who returned to the club this summer after ten years away, set aside an hour and a half for the Q&A session with fans, offering a very personal insight into, amongst other things, her daily life as a footballer and her role as captain, as well as her passion for Pokémon.
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