After the hard-fought 1-0 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the DFB Cup, the Bayer 04 pros had the chance to take a well-deserved break over the festive period into the New Year. Although this winter break has been shorter than normal due to the World Cup finals in the summer with the associated earlier start to the second half of the Bundesliga campaign, Werkself players and coaching staff used the opportunity to get far away to recharge their batteries: Bernd Leno spent a couple of days in New York, Stefan Kießling went to Austria with his family, Joel Pohjanpalo took a break in Helsinki and Karim Bellarabi went to Africa.
Today, the focus is clearly on the restart of the league campaign with what promises to be a cracker of a match on Friday 12 January at 20.30 CET in front a sell-out crowd at the BayArena against the runaway league leaders and reigning champions Bayern Munich. After the opening session on Tuesday, the Werkself have a double shift on Tuesday (10.30 CET and 15.30 CET) with another public session on Thursday (15.30 CET) before the first of two friendlies. Bayer 04 entertain second division SpVgg Greuther Fürth at the Haberland Stadium on Friday before taking on third division Preußen Münster at the same venue on Saturday. The two games kick off at 14.00 CET. The three South Americans Charles Aránguiz, Wendell and Lucas Alario will join their team-mates on Wednesday as Heiko Herrlich has given the trio an extra day off due to the long journeys from Chile, Brazil and Argentina.
There is another highlight for the Werkself at the weekend. During the ARD Sportschau TV show on Sunday the draw will be held for the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup at 18.00 CET – and it's fingers crossed for a favourable draw in the last eight.
Fun, games and promising talent: At the fourth Bayer 04 Junior Girls’ Talent Day at the Kurtekotten training centre, 90 football-mad girls had the chance to put themselves forward for the Werkself youth teams. During a 90-minute training session, children born between 2011 and 2019 had the chance to demonstrate their skills.
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Despite the international break, numerous Werkself fans turned up at the BayArena on Saturday 3 October. The occasion: Bayer 04, together with Bayer Vital and main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer, organised a Health Day. In the stadium’s Premium Lounge, guests listened to fascinating talks on the subject of cancer, featuring, amongst others, Bayer 04 record appearance holder Rüdiger Vollborn and former Werkself player Hans Sarpei. Afterwards, young and old alike enjoyed interactive stations such as a grip strength test and eye pupil test.
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In issue #56 of Werkself Magazine, Afonso Moreira offers some interesting insights into his home country, Portugal, as part of the ‘Sag mal’ (Tell me) feature. Among other things, the 21-year-old talks about his favourite places in the country on the Iberian Peninsula, the local cuisine and music, as well as heroes and historical figures beyond the world of football. ‘Sag mal’ with Afonso Moreira!
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Exciting exhibitions, stimulating talk, and a great response: as part of the 22nd Leverkusen Kunstnacht (Art Night), Bismarckstraße also became an art promenade on Friday evening. Stadioneck and Schwadbud made their debut at the traditional event, whilst the Lev-Szene 86 clubhouse on Konrad-Adenauer-Platz was taking part for the third time. In Schlebusch, too, there was art on display with links to Bayer 04. Football wasn’t always the main focus, however.
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