
Peter Bosz and his fellow coaches certainly put the players through their paces – four days before the home game against the relegation – threatened Franconians there was a highly intensive session on the agenda. Split into teams of three, there were plenty of high tempo encounters with lots of shots on goal on small sized pitches. The Werkself were certainly warmed up with outdoor temperatures of 15 degrees.
On Tuesday, Kevin Volland and Lars Bender joined the training group later that also included three U19 players Adrian Stanilewicz, Herdi Bukusu and Marc Lamti. The duo started with an individual session on the ball on the neighbouring pitch before they rejoined their teammates for the last part of the session. Leon Bailey worked in the gym at the BayArena to lighten his workload. Isaac Kiese Thelin did not make the session. The Sweden striker complained of muscle problems in his calf and therefore missed out on the morning workout.
While the action was on the training ground in the morning, it moved inside in the early afternoon. As part of the Bayer 04 Soccer School Easter camp there was a player visit and a tour of the stadium. After lunch, Panos Retsos was in the media centre at the BayArena where he completed a Q & A session with the kids. In a somewhat unorthodox interview, the 20-year-old revealed his favourite club, spoke about his favourite book and with which players in the squad he spends most of his free time with. At the end, the Werkself number three signed autographs and had selfies taken with the camp participants. To the great surprise for a section of the kids on the stadium tour, they bumped into Wendell, Karim Bellarabi and head coach Peter Bosz in the Mixed Zone. All three were happy to mix with the fans and meet their desire for selfies. Up to Thursday, over 100 young female and male players will complete different technical and tactical training sessions at the Soccer Centor Leverkusen (for those born from 2010 to 2012) and at Kurtekotten (2005 to 2009). The club has also organised a four-day camp for the second week of the holidays.








The Bayer 04 U19s have a competitive match tonight. At 19.00 CET the team coached by Markus von Ahlen face Bonner SC in Bonn (Sportpark Nord, artificial pitch on Josefshöhe) in the quarter-finals of the Association Cup against the team from a tier below, currently lying seventh in the Middle Rhine League. After a disappointing 2-2 draw against relegation-threatened SC Paderborn in the U19 Bundesliga on Saturday, the Bayer 04 Youth team are now determined to do all they can to reach the semi-finals. Markus von Ahlen is unable to call on the young pro Jan Boller as he has been away in Lower Saxony since Sunday for a session with the Germany U19s in Barsinghausen.


Having progressed to the DFB Pokal Round of 16, the Bayer 04 Women do not have much time before their next Bundesliga fixture. On Friday night (18:30 CEST), coach Roberto Pätzold’s side kick off matchday six at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium against Werder Bremen – and they have a clear mission.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career working as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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Bayer 04 host top French club Marseille at the BayArena on matchday four in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League group stage. The match kicks off on Thursday 5 November at 21:00 CET. The latest information on ticket sales.
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During the international break, Bayer 04 will face third-division newcomers SC Fortuna Köln on Friday 2 October (kick-off: 11:00 CEST). The match will be played on training pitch 1 at the BayArena, as preparations are already underway at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium for the Bayer 04 women’s Bundesliga home match against Werder Bremen, which is due to kick off in the early evening. To ensure the friendly against Fortuna Köln runs smoothly and without disruption, it will be played behind closed doors.
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