At 10.21 CEST, Robert Andrich joined Julian Baumgartlinger and Mitchell Weiser on the pitch next to the BayArena. After the obligatory greetings, the new player at the Werkself completed the whole session. The 26-year-old joined Leverkusen from Union Berlin at the start of the week. Head coach Gerardo Seoane had words of praise for the midfielder following the morning session: "He brings a certain competitive mentality, strong physique and a good passing game. We know what we're getting with him and are happy that he's joined us."
Like Andrich, Bob Schoos also experienced his first day at work at Bayer 04 on the pitch. The new Werkself fitness coach had been working with the first team at Schalke 04 for the past two years and before that the Luxemburg-born coach worked at the TSG Hoffenheim academy for four years.
Newcomer Schoos is now a work colleague of Bayer 04 old hand Schahriar Bigdeli. The former German long jump champion has been looking after the fitness of the Werkself players since 2006. However, the 41-year-old has been sidelined in recent weeks after injuring a knee ligament. Now the splints are off and he is back on the training ground. Good to see you again.
And there's more good news on the personnel front from the Bayer 04 camp as Bigdeli spent the morning session with another returnee: youngster Florian Wirtz. The 18-year-old missed the first two games of the new season due to injury. He is now working hard on making his return to the squad. Head coach Gerardo Seoane on the young offensive player: "We're gradually building up Flo's training and seeing how his body reacts to the stress and strain. All in all, he is on the right track."
Timothy Fosu-Mensah is in a similar position even if his return to full training is expected later. The right-back suffered a torn cruciate at the start of March. Like Wirtz, the 23-year-old completed an individual session on the pitch on Tuesday. Gerardo Seoane looked impressed with the hard work the Dutchman put into training: "He's here every day, often even trains twice a day and he always has a positive attitude. But with him it will probably take to October or November until he can return to full training."
With all today's positive news, there are unfortunately some bad tidings: Right-back Jeremie Frimpong had to finish training early due to muscular problems. It remains to be seen whether the Dutchman will be an option for the forthcoming home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday, 21 August (kick-off: 18.30 CEST).
Bayer 04 announced another new signing on Monday in addition to Robert Andrich: Piero Hincapie. The left-footer came to Leverkusen from the Argentinian top-flight club CA Talleres and he is set to play as a central defender. At the moment, the 19-year-old is in quarantine for five days and he will join the team at the end of the week. Head coach Gerardo Seoane believes Piero has "huge potential."
Lars and Sven Bender are no longer playing in professional football. The long-standing Werkself players ended their professional careers in the summer. However, the twins never thought of turning their backs on football. The 32-year-olds are now playing for TSV Brannenburg, the club that they were at as teenagers, in the ninth division – and they are really enjoying their new environment. "It's incredible fun. We want to give something back to the region," said Sven Bender to the broadcaster ran. His twin brother Lars added: "There's always a crate of beer here!" And the long-standing Leverkusen players richly deserve that. Enjoy it.
Two former Werkself players celebrated their birthdays on Tuesday. Jorginho, who wore the number two for Bayer 04 from 1989 to 1992, was 57 years old. The Brazilian is currently working back home with the top-flight side Cuiabá EC as head coach.
Jan Heintze is now 58 years old. The former Werkself left-back (1996-99) talked about his time under the Bayer Cross a few days ago. On the occasion of his debut in Black and Red exactly 25 years ago, the Dane spoke about long car journeys with Erik Meijer and his job that has regularly brought him to the BayArena for several years. HERE is the link to the interview. Many happy returns to both of you.
For the third time in a row, the Leverkusen eSports players have made it through to the final round of the VBL Club Championship. From 7 to 8 March, they will compete for the German Club Championship at XPERION in Hamburg. At the start of the final round, they face Hamburger SV in the Round of 16. The match starts at 19:30 CET on Saturday, 7 March and will be broadcast live on the VBL Twitch channel. The eSports preview.
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"We played with pace and patience today. That was the decisive factor," said managing director sport Simon Rolfes following the 1-0 win at Hamburger SV in the rearranged match on Wednesday night. Although the Werkself still had room for improvement in terms of capitalising on their chances against the Red Shorts, they produced a different display to last time out and were rewarded for a concentrated performance over 90 minutes. The Werkself review features reaction to the game, including from a happy starting XI debutant, as well as the match stats.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-0 win in rearranged match at Hamburger SV on Matchday 17 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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The second attempt was a successful one: the Werkself won 1-0 at Hamburger SV in the rearranged Bundesliga Matchday 17 encounter. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand's side dominated play from the start and eventually scored the winning goal through Christian Kofane in the 73rd minute.
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