
Regional awards for two Bayer 04 women's players: Bundesliga debutant Julia Mickenhagen and captain Elisa Senß were successful at the sports awards in their home districts. Mickenhagen, from Wipperfürth, who made her senior debut for the Black-and-Reds in the 2-1 win at 1. FC Nürnberg in February, finished second in the voting in the Oberbergischer Kreis.
Midfielder Senß, a Germany international since December and candidate for the Olympics squad, came out on top from the five nominees in the Oldenburg district and was crowned 'Sportswoman of the Year' for the first time.
There was something to smile about for at least one Bayer 04 player in last Friday's disappointing 1-0 defeat at RB Leipzig: Sofie Zdebel, who made her Bundesliga debut in March 2021, registered her 50th competitive appearance for the works club at the age of just 19. She's the fifth player from the current squad to reach this figure, after Melissa Friedrich (98 appearances), Kristin Kögel (87), Lilla Turányi (82) and Sylwia Matysik (64). Friederike Repohl is likely to be the next to join the 50 club. The goalkeeper, who extended her contract at the end of March, is currently on 46 appearances for Bayer 04.
In the U17 Bundesliga West/Southwest, it's set to be an extremely exciting final matchday with no fewer than five teams still in with a chance of finishing top and thereby qualifying for the finals for the national championship. The Bayer 04 U17 side, coached by Aleksandar Vukicevic, are lingering in fifth place with 35 points after a 2-0 defeat at 1. FFC Kaiserslautern and host leaders Borussia Mönchengladbach (36 points) on Saturday 27 April (14:00 CEST) at the Performance Centre at Kurtekotten. Only the winner of the regional division qualifies for the semi-final against SpVg Aurich.
Last season, Vukicevic's team won the final against the same opponents to secure the first U17 girls' title in the history of Bayer 04.

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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