"I saw some good work from my players today," declared Peter Bosz after his first test as the new head coach at Bayer 04. "There were a lot of new things for the lads this week and it was interesting to see how they put that into action in the game," said the 55-year-old. Four days after the Dutchman had taken up his new post, the game at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium was played behind closed doors on the advice of the police – only journalists were allowed access to the stands.
Led by skipper Charles Aránguiz, the Black and Reds took charge of the game from the start against the team lying fourth in the Dutch league in persistent rain – the only real chance for the visitors was thwarted by the alert Ramazan Özcan in a one-on-one with Twente's Aitor Cantalapiedra (23'). Otherwise the action was all in one direction. Attempts from Lucas Alario (9'), Sam Schreck (22') and Charles Aránguiz (27') were all kept out by Joel Drommel, performing well in the visitor's goal. Resistance was finally broken on 32 minutes with Alario converting from the penalty spot. The spot kick was awarded for a foul on Isaac Kiese Thelin. Kohr rounded off a committed first half with a left-foot shot into the right corner of the net to make it 2-0 at the break.
Bosz changed his whole line-up for the second half. Nevertheless, the Werkself continued to impress for much of the second 45 minutes but they were lucky when the Twente striker Jelle van der Heyde put his shot wide of the target with only Lukas Hradecky to beat (68'). At that point, Kevin Volland had already scored to make it 3-0 (58') after a move involving Karim Bellarabi and Wendell, with Kai Havertz (51') and Bellarabi (54') being denied by the visitor's keeper before that. Leon Bailey netted the fourth and final goal on 78 minutes with a close-range effort that completed probably the best move of the game that involved Julian Brandt and Bellarabi. "We were happy with the result but our opponents did have some chances. But we've trained hard and tried out a lot of new approaches. Of course, not everything can go right after such a short time," said Bosz in his assessment of the first performance of his new team.
Bayer 04: Özcan (Hradecky 46') – Weiser (L. Bender 46'), Jedvaj (Tah 46'), Dragovic (S. Bender 46'), Bednarczyk (Wendell 46') – Kohr (Brandt 46'), Aránguiz (Baumgartlinger 46'), Schreck (Havertz 46') – Kiese Thelin (Bellarabi 46'), Alario (Volland 46'), Paulinho (Bailey 46')
The next two Werkself friendlies will be played on Friday. The Werkself play Dutch top-flight side PEC Zwolle (14.00 CET, Ulrich Haberland Stadium) and then Preußen Münster. While the first match of the day is open to supporters (free of charge), the game against the third division side will again be held behind closed doors.
Whether it's sport or his private live: Captain Edmond Tapsoba tells us his top three personal favourites in twelve categories in edition #56 of the Werkself Magazine. The defender had to answer as quickly as he reacts on the pitch. 'On the Podium' with Edmond Tapsoba!
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“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
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A floodlit derby, two further night games and a top-of-the-table clash on a Saturday afternoon: The German Football Association (DFB) has confirmed the exact dates for four further matchdays in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga. This means all fixtures for the Bayer 04 women’s team up to the end of the year, as well as the first two in 2027, are now confirmed.
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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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Several Werkself players are set to represent their national teams during the final international break of 2026. Here’s an overview of who has been called up and the matches they will face in November. This article will be updated regularly.
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