As usual on double matchdays under Peter Bosz, the head coach will field two different teams tomorrow – that means all the Werkself players will get to play. The probable formations were evident in today’s training session. After the warm-up, the outfield players were split up and they started with a five-a-side game. Then the two keepers Lukas Hradecky and Ramazan ‘Rambo’ Özcan were introduced and it then moved on to eleven-a-side. The head coach on the touchline demanded “good passes” and “passing accuracy” – and he wants to see that tomorrow on the double matchday that will be broadcast live on bayer04.de, Facebook and YouTube.
Bayer 04 sporting director Simon Rolfes has clear expectations of tomorrow’s friendlies: “In terms of performance and workload, I expect us to play well tomorrow. It’s important for us to be ready for the Bundesliga restart.” He has been impressed by the training camp in La Manga so far. “The players are very focused and committed. There’s a good spirit in the squad,” he said in an exclusive interview with Bayer 04 TV.
Reinforcements have arrived today from Leverkusen for the games against Utrecht and St. Gallen. The two U19 youngsters Fabian Rüth and Leon Gaedicke flew out to Spain. The two completed individual training sessions. They can hope to get time on the pitch with the senior players tomorrow but will start on the bench.
To help communication on and off the pitch, the players from abroad regularly have German lessons with Carlos Sobarzo, head of integration for the Bayer 04 first team, as was the case this morning. While new signing Exequiel Palacios is starting with the basics, it’s all running smoothly for Moussa Diaby. “He’s making good progress,” reported Sobarzo, who used to have a language school. The lessons cover football vocabulary plus words and sentences useful for conversation on a daily basis.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the 2nd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
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Bayer 04’s eight opponents in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League have been confirmed. At the draw on Friday 28 August held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, the Werkself were drawn against two opponents from each of the four pots. There are a total of four home and four away matches. Read on for details of opponents and fixture dates.
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In the 3-2 defeat at Bundesliga newcomers SV 07 Elversberg, the Werkself found the back of the net in the closing stages and, with a bit of luck, could still have equalised. “Today, our play wasn’t good enough, particularly when it came to the basics,” said head coach Carles Martínez. Like the boss, Ibrahim Maza also wants to learn from the match and look ahead: “Next week, people should be able to see from the very first minute that we want it more than our opponents.” The Werkself review on the Bundesliga opener in 2026/27.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-3 loss at SV 07 Elversberg on Matchday 1 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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No points to start the league campaign: Bayer 04 lost 3-2 away to newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg in the first Bundesliga match of the 2026/27 campaign. Two quick-fire goals from Lukas Petkov (8’) and Cole Campbell (10’) gave the hosts an early lead, before David Mokwa scored the Saarland side’s third shortly after half-time (46’). In the closing stages, the Werkself rallied and staged a late comeback with goals from Patrik Schick (77’) and Christian Kofane (90+1’), but the Black and Reds were denied an equaliser.
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