After a two-year enforced break due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bayer 04 have now finally been able to continue the traditional partnership with the Leverkusen Sports Association in the established way: As this year's patron of the Birkenberg Soccer School, Werkself player Florian Wirtz did not fail to provide attention to the girls and boys taking part at the end of the summer holidays. In a relaxed round of questions at the SC Leverkusen ground, the 19-year-old Germany international gave up lots of time for the children on Wednesday afternoon and he was rewarded with enthusiasm and beaming faces. A total of 450 children have taken part in football courses over the past six weeks.
After the Werkself had a day off on Monday, the players under head coach Gerardo Seoane were fully focused on preparing for the top match in Dortmund the next day. There was a tough shift in the glaring Leverkusen sunshine: In addition to sessions on the speed caught inside the BayArena there were press-ups on the pitch, intense passing drills, six vs six matches in restricted space and more.
The Werkself completed a slightly changed but equally intense session in front of a large number of fans today and they certainly worked up a sweat in tropical temperatures of 34 degrees. While Lukas Hradecky, Andrey Lunev and Niklas Lomb worked separately at the start of the 90-minute plus session, the Black and Red goalkeeping trio joined their teammates for the final practice game. Head coach Seoane again and again interrupted the match in training and gave instructions or had discussions with players and his fellow coaches.
Amine Adli worked one-on-one with fitness coach Markus Müller, and Timothy Fosu-Mensah also trained on his own. The two Werkself players completed a range of sprints and running drills.
The Werkself Women's team are also hard at work with a large number of sessions this week. On Monday, head coach Robert de Pauw held the first training session of the week with many others following in the next few days. A trio consisting of Anna Klink, Kristin Kögel and Elisa Senß headed off to Frankfurt on Tuesday for the DFB Media Day. Their teammates focused on defensive work in the training session in Leverkusen.
On Saturday 6 August (kick-off: 14.00 CEST) the Bayer 04 Women's team play top Dutch club PSV Eindhoven in a friendly before the players led by de Pauw travel on two days later to a five-day training camp in Kaiserau by Kamen in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Congratulations, Anne. The youth goalkeeper at Bayer 04 has won the award for the best save of the month for July. In the friendly against the Mexican first division Club América Femenil (0-1), which the Werkself Women played last month on the #Bayer04MexicoTour, the 17-year-old keeper kept her team on terms with a sensational save. You can watch her fine save again HERE.
Happy birthday, Achim Feifel. The Baden-Württemberg-born coach today celebrates his 58th birthday. The graduate sports teacher focused on coaching women's teams early on. After coaching top clubs in international women's football such as Hamburg SV, the Russian club FC Rossiyanka and FFC Turbine Potsdam, Feifel took over the posts of coach with the Bayer 04 Women's team in 2019. Since this year he has worked for the Werkself as the sporting director of women's football.
Bayer 04 today remember Werner Röhrig who would have been 88 years old today (Wednesday). The former Werkself captain, who was under the Bayer Cross for many years, was born in Leverkusen and died in his home town at the age of 76. During his time as a professional football player, Röhrig only played for one club: Bayer 04. After the former midfielder ended his playing career, he spent several years on the board of the football department as well as the senior committee of TSV Bayer 04. Röhrig also helped build an archive on large parts of the history of Bayer 04, which he also helped to write for nine years (1955-1964) – a true Leverkusener who will never be forgotten.
New signing Miguel Gutiérrez arrives in Leverkusen having won the Champions League, the Spanish league title and an Olympic gold medal. However, the 25-year-old Spaniard, signed from Napoli, is looking to the future – he wants to write the next chapter of success with the Werkself. Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the skilful, attack-minded left-back, who will wear the number 3 jersey.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day three (Tuesday 4 August) begins with a thorough open session on the pitch. After lunch, some players have media engagements at the team hotel, and then the team come together for a barbecue in the evening.
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Nine matches against teams from nine countries, two penalty shoot-outs won, and encounters that went far beyond football: As with last year, the Inklusionswerkself enjoyed an extraordinary week at the Genuine Cup 2026 in Houston, USA, and made memories that will last a lifetime. This year, the Leverkusen side took part as Germany’s official representatives and, accordingly, took to the pitch in Germany kit. Together with 53 teams from 53 nations, the Black and Reds once again sent a powerful message of inclusion and participation – and also impressed on the pitch by winning their group.
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The Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog, you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme for day two (Monday, 3 August) centres on two training sessions – one in the morning (open to the public) and one in the early evening (behind closed doors) – at the nearby training grounds. In the afternoon, fans can look forward to a big fan meet-up with club legend Paulo Sergio at Schloss Blankenhain.
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