
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.


It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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