In cold and wet weather on and around the training ground at the BayArena, the Werkself squad returned after the winter break with the exception of long-term injuries Joel Pohjanpalo (rehab training after ankle injury) and Panos Retsos (rehab after muscle tendon injury to thigh) plus Leon Bailey and Charles Aránguiz (both for private reasons). At the same time, Marco Wolf, a 17-year-old forward with the club's U19 team trained with the pros for the first time.
An intense warm-up session was followed by a range of passing and shooting drills as well as a practice match at the end of the first session under the new Werkself coach Peter Bosz that lasted for just under one and three-quarter hours.
The Werkself carry on training on Saturday and Sunday (both at 10.30 CET) as well as on Monday (14.30 CET) in open sessions before the first friendly of the New Year on Tuesday (14.00 CET). The match against the Dutch first division club Twente Enschede will be played behind closed doors.
Former Bundesliga and Germany keeper Manfred Manglitz, who was promoted to the Oberliga West with Bayer 04 in 1962, passed away on Monday at the age of 86.
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Justine Brandau and Lobke Loonen joined the Bayer 04 Women’s squad in quick succession this summer. The two Dutch players have been friends since their youth days, and are now playing for the same club for the first time. In an interview at the training camp in Rieden, Brandau and Loonen talk, amongst other things, about their experiences as opponents in the Vrouwen Eredivisie, the dynamic within their new team and their first few weeks in Leverkusen.
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The Werkself fixture list for the 2026/27 season in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga has been finalised. To kick off the season, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team travel to RB Leipzig between 21 and 24 August. The fixtures were announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday morning. The season will conclude with a home match on 23 May 2027 against newly promoted side Mainz 05.
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On Wednesday evening, Monheim City Council voted against a planning resolution for the Bayer 04 Campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße in Monheim in a secret ballot, with 19 votes in favour, 25 against and one abstention. The legal status of the project therefore remains unchanged.
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