The new Werkself head coach turned up for work punctually on 1 July. While the players only have to appear at the BayArena on Monday for their performance tests, Gerardo Seoane has been in Leverkusen since Thursday. In numerous discussions with sporting director Simon Rolfes and his coaching staff, the pre-season will be planned and work done on the squad for next season. In addition, the 42-year-old will get to know the rest of the staff supporting the Werkself and will hold important discussions over the coming weeks.
One player who Gerardo Seoane will not meet at the start of training is Leon Bailey. The 23-year-old is set to play for Jamaica in the Gold Cup, the North and Central American equivalent of the European Championship. The first match is on Tuesday, 13 July with the kick-off in Orlando (USA) at 00.30 CEST. The opening opponents for Bailey and Co. are Suriname, and Costa Rica are also in Group C. The fourth opponent will be resolved this weekend in two play-off rounds.
The Werkself winger has made eight appearances for Jamaica so far including at the 2019 Gold Cup where the ‘Reggae Boyz’ were knocked out by the USA at the semi-final stage.
Euro 2020 and the Copa America are entering their final stages. Three Leverkusen players are in action with their national teams. Centre-forward Patrik Schick is set to play in the Euro quarter-finals for the Czech Republic against Denmark on Saturday night, 3 July. The kick-off in Azerbaijan's capital Baku is at 18.00 CEST. Schick has been involved in all five goals scored in the tournament by the 'Reprezentace'. The 25-year-old has scored four goals himself and provided one assist.
In South America, the Werkself skipper Charles Aránguiz and Exequiel Palacios are involved in the first knockout clashes in this year's Copa America at the quarter-final stage. In the night from Friday to Saturday, Chile with the impressive Aránguiz face Brazil (kick-off: 02.00 CEST) and 25 hours later Palacios and Argentina take on Ecuador. Good luck to both of you.
Kerem Demirbay? Leon Köhl? Nadiem Amiri? Chiara Bücher? Or even Lars Bender? As usual, you again have the opportunity this year to vote for your Goal of the Season presented by like2drive. To enter, you have until Sunday, 4 July to name your favourite goal from last season under our Facebook post. You can take your time to look at all the goals once again. Click HERE for the video.
The Leverkusen Fan Project has served as a meeting place for all Leverkusen residents and Werkself fans since its foundation in 1996. This week the Fan Project celebrates its 25th birthday. On this occasion we thank everybody involved for the untiring and so valuable social contribution to our club and our city. Here's to many more years side-by-side.
World Cup winner Toni Kroos has announced his retirement from the German national team. The Real Madrid midfielder, who played on loan for the Werkself from January 2009 to June 2010, made the announcement on Friday. The 31-year-old made 106 appearances for Germany. At Leverkusen, Kroos played 48 games and he made his international debut in March 2010 during his time under the Bayer Cross.
After just two points from their last four games, the situation has become trickier for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the bottom third of the table. Only three points separate the Foals from the relegation play-off spot. Coach Eugen Polanski's team is under pressure ahead of the home game against the Werkself on Saturday, 7 February (kick-off: 18:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Calling all eSports fans: On Saturday, 21 February (from 16:00 CET), the Werkself Wildcard Cup will take place at XPERION Köln (Hansaring 97, 50670 Cologne). Interested EA FC 26 amateur players will have the opportunity to win attractive prizes and a place in the VBL Open Play-offs by WOW. The play-offs are the final preliminary stage of the VBL Grand Final by WOW, the tournament for the German individual championship and, alongside the club championship (VBL CC), the most important sub-competition in the German eSports scene. Read on for information on registration.
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At its first general meeting on 5 February 2026 in Frankfurt am Main, the Frauen Bundesliga FBL e.V. made key decisions regarding the future direction of the Women’s Bundesliga. The meeting was based on the results of the negotiations with the German Football Association (DFB) over the past few weeks.
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Another efficient performance from the Werkself in the 3-0 home win against FC St. Pauli saw them reach the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal for the third time in a row, and it was not the only record set on what was a successful evening. It meant head coach Kasper Hjulmand was delighted to "still be in with the chance of winning something". Like the coach, however, the ambitious Edmond Tapsoba also stated that he wanted to keep "improving" bit by bit: "We'll continue to give our all, no matter who we come up against." The Werkself review of the clash.
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