
From Kurtekotten to the Champions League: Born in Aachen, Kai Havertz joined Bayer 04 as a ten- year-old, progressed through various youth teams, in 2016 was a Germany U17 champion and at 17 made his debut for the first team. Kai reviews his time under the Bayer Cross on the basis of ten moments.
Coronavirus is still an issue day by day – and that's also reflected in the current edition of the Werkself Magazin. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, 67 days separated the Werkself games at Rangers and Werder Bremen. There has still been a lot of action in the background at the BayArena in spite of the enforced break. The magazine shows how Bayer 04 have dealt with the pandemic and the lockdown.
Talking about Glasgow: that was a special trip! The match at Ibrox against the Scottish giants Rangers on 12 March was the last game for the Werkself in front of spectators. As part of the report, we look back at the trip made under the shadow of the coronavirus crisis.
In addition, the Werkself Magazin takes a closer look at Exequiel Palacios – our 'gaucho with the winning gene'. Readers can get to know more about the Argentinian with the winning mentality in an in-depth profile.
Last but not least, Jörg Kappenhagen and Peter Quast – both long-standing instructors and youth coaches at Bayer 04 – talk about their interesting travels as part of the Young Coaches training courses around the globe. The conversation covers sustainable aid in developing countries, the joy of working with people from different cultures, personal demands – and about the power of football that goes beyond borders and brings people together.

Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
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SV Wehen Wiesbaden undoubtedly envisaged a different start to the new season. After two matchdays, the Hessen side currently sit bottom of the Liga 3 table. On Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), SVWW host the Werkself in the first round of the DFB Pokal at their home ground, the BRITA Arena. It was there, in this very competition a year ago, that the club almost pulled off a massive upset. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Farid Alfa-Ruprecht is going out on loan from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Bundesliga 2 side Hertha Berlin. The pacy winger will be at the Berlin club for one year.
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Heading towards the competitive start of the 2026/27 season together: the Werkself kicked off preparations for the DFB Pokal clash at third-tier SV Wehen Wiesbaden with an open session in front of their fans on Tuesday morning. Before the first-round tie on Saturday 22 August at 13:00 CEST - for which the away section is already sold out - there'll be one more open session on Thursday from 11:00 CEST, when fans have another chance to watch head coach Carles Martínez's men at work.
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