Dora Zeller, Irina Pando, Lara Marti, Sylwia Matysik, Lisanne Gräwe, Sofie Zdebel and Julia Pollak were the seven Bayer 04 players returning from international duty in the middle of this week. That does not leave much time for the septet to prepare for the next opponents as the Feifel team are in action against TSG Hoffenheim on Sunday in the DFB Cup Round of 16. The 19-year-old Pollak will not be in the squad. "Julia returned with muscular problems and is unfortunately unavailable," explained the Leverkusen coach.
Bayer 04 have only lost one game this season. The Black and Reds have picked up 15 points from six games in the FLYERALARM Women's Bundesliga. The last round of the DFB Cup brought a 3-1 away win at RB Leipzig. "Wins obviously boost confidence and inner belief in success," said Feifel before adding: "Nevertheless, we need to keep our feet on the ground and improve in training week by week. In matches it's a matter of carrying on playing together as a team."
That also applies to Sunday as TSG are a top side visiting the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. "They are," underlined Feifel, "an absolute top team with international class. They have a very good squad with a lot of individual quality and recently have also impressed on the European stage." That makes it even more important for the Bayer 04 players to be able to transition from compact defending. "We have to be prepared for anything against Hoffenheim," declared Feifel. "It will depend on us working passionately off the ball and showing aggression."
The coach also demanded his team be clinical in front of goal: "We need determination, high tempo and efficient conversion of chances to be able to hurt the opposition." And then ideally go through to the next round.
Anybody unable to watch the match at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium but who would like to cheer on the Bayer 04 Women in front of a screen can do that on the club’s YouTube channel. The broadcast starts at 14.55 CEST.
The Bayer 04 players were put through their paces at the Werkstatt – the club’s rehabilitation and training centre – on Sunday as they completed the first and main part of this year’s performance diagnostics. New signings Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Axel Tape, as well as players returning from their holidays, all did the customary medical and athletic tests.
Show more
The team departs for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Monday for the Bayer 04 Brazil Tour 2025 from July 14-24. The preseason journey marks a change from recent training camps in the Austrian Alps and Black Forest and we caught up with CEO Fernando Carro to ask him about this summer's visit to Brazil.
Show more
Malik Tillman and the USA could not quite achieve the hoped-for big win in their own country. Last Monday’s final in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in Houston ended up in a 2-1 defeat for the hosts against Mexico. But the Bayer 04 new signing can be very happy with the course of the tournament and his own performances. Tillman was in the starting line-up for all six games. That concluded an impressive season for him after winning the Eredivisie title in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven. Bayer04.de profiles the 23-year-old new signing.
Show more
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed the USA international Malik Tillman. The 23-year-old attacking midfielder joins the Werkself from Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven. Tillman, with German roots and born in Nuremberg, has a contract at Leverkusen to 30 June 2030. He scored 16 goals and provided five assists in 34 games for PSV last season. Three of those goals and two assists were in six matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Show more
