The teams once met in the round of 16 of the 2006/07 UEFA Cup. Bayer 04 won the first leg 3-0, but despite a 2-1 defeat in the second leg, the Werkself progressed to the round of 16. Current sporting director Simon Rolfes and club representative Stefan Kiessling played in both games.
A curious feature of the Bollaert-Delelis stadium in Lens is that it is one of the few arenas where the home 'end' with the most loyal and loudest fans is located along the touchline and not, as is usually the case, behind one of the goals.
The friendly match will be streamed live in the Bayer 04 app as well as on the club's own YouTube channel and on Werkself-TV (German commentary only). ServusTV and DF1 will also broadcast the match live. In addition, the Bayer 04 live ticker (German language only) will keep you up to date so you don't miss anything of the match. Werkself-Radio will not be broadcasting.
In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
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Rieden reloaded: Just like last year, the Bayer 04 Women’s team are spending their summer training camp in this idyllic corner of Bavaria. From this Sunday, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team will be based in Rieden in the Upper Palatinate for a week.
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Following the summer break, most of the players are back in Leverkusen. While two Bayer 04 first-team players are still in action at the World Cup, the players present officially kicked off the new season with fitness assessments. At the Werkstatt, the Bayer 04 rehabilitation and training centre, Robert Andrich, Edmond Tapsoba and the rest of the squad worked up quite a sweat in the sweltering summer heat. New signings Afonso Moreira and Kennet Eichhorn also successfully completed the day’s sessions alongside their new team-mates.
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The Werkself return tomorrow, Tuesday 14 July (from 11:00 CEST at the BayArena; live stream on bayer04.de, the Bayer 04 app and YouTube), with new head coach Carles Martínez leading his first training session as part of the Bayer 04 set-up. His coaching team comprises a mix of new and long-standing colleagues.
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