Following Tuesday night’s 2-1 win, the team under head coach Peter Bosz temporarily moved up to second in the table behind Bayern Munich – but RB Leipzig regained second spot on Wednesday with a 1-0 win against Union Berlin. That means the Werkself finish the first half of the season on 32 points (Leipzig: 35; Bayern: 39) in third place in a Champions League position.
Due to the crowded fixture list, the first half of the season finishes in the middle of a run of games – there is no sense of half-time as the second half of the season starts on Saturday with a game at home to VfL Wolfsburg (Saturday 23 January, 15.30 CET).
The final day in self-isolation after arriving in Germany on Sunday, the first Werkself training session on Monday, the first time in the squad on Tuesday against BVB – new signing Timothy Fosu-Mensah has jumped straight in at the deep end with the Werkself. Thursday brought the obligatory first media session. At the photo shoot, profile and autograph card photos were taken and that was followed by video production and the first interview was completed. That will be available here soon on Bayer 04 TV.
Our sporting director has a reason to celebrate: Simon Rolfes’ birthday is today. The Bayer 04 honorary captain was born in Ibbenbüren in the Westphalian region of Tecklenburger Land 39 years ago. The Bayer 04 family wish Simon many happy returns. On his birthday, we have dug out the Bayer 04 YouTube channel episode of ‘Den kenn‘ ich!’ (I know him) with Rolfes and Stefan Kießling. The duo played together for almost ten years but how well do they know each other? Here is the video.
The wait for the next episode of our Werks11 podcast is nearly over. Next Tuesday is the day. The new edition was recorded on Thursday. And we can reveal this much: It’s another current Werkself player who will talk about football and also divulge details on his private life. He is tall, blond, often wears gloves and he knows cold temperatures from his home country…
The Bayer 04 Women have been the surprise package in the league this season are in the top half of the table in fifth with 20 points. One of the reasons is the big squad as head coach Achim Feifel explains in an interview in the women's football magazine 'ELFEN: "It was important to us to have two players in each position. That leads to more depth, greater competition and increased intensity in training." The full article on the Werkself Women and their new role is in the current 'ELFEN' edition #4. The magazine is available from the usual outlets now.
The long-standing successful collaboration between Bayer 04 and the transport service provider wupsi GmbH has been expanded: From January 2026, 100 wupsi bikes with Bayer 04 branding will be available for hire throughout the city of Leverkusen. They will complement the many existing offers and services that provide key support, especially for fans travelling to and from home matches at the BayArena.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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After a two-week winter break, the Werkself resume training on Sunday, 4 January. The first session in 2026 at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium starts at 11:00 and is open to fans. Bayer 04 look forward to welcoming supporters at the start of 2026. The Werkself schedule for the new year.
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After being nominated for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025, Martin Terrier's wonderful strike for the opener against FC Köln is now also up for selection for the ARD Sportschau Goal of the Month award for December 2025. Bayer 04 fans have until 19:00 CET on 10 January to vote for the French forward.
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