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.
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-4 loss against VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 16 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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The Werkself began 2026 with defeat, losing 4-1 at home to VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 16 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga. Jamie Leweling opened the scoring early, with Maximilian Mittelstädt making it 2-0 from a penalty before Leweling again and Deniz Undav increased the lead to 4-0 just before half-time. Alejandro Grimaldo's penalty reduced the deficit midway through the second period.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has gained a new partner in digital gaming platform Crown Coins, which joins the Bundesliga runners-up's Sponsors Club with immediate effect. The one-and-a-half-year contract runs until 30 June 2027.
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