The U14s are still top of the table in the Youth Cup after a 1-1 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach. In the home game against the team in second on the same points, the Werkself youngsters levelled with ten minutes to play for the final score of 1-1. The Black and Reds played with ten players for over 50 minutes after a red card on the half-hour mark and conceded the goal just after the sending off. “We fought our way back into the game with ten men. The draw was deserved,” summed up coach Mirko Casper.
Like the older year group, the Leverkusen U13s held on to top spot in the Youth Cup. The team under the coaching duo Benjamin Adam and Marco Walter won 5-2 at FC Köln – and have now gone six games without dropping a point.
The Werkself U12s were on the wrong end of a 7-0 scoreline away to Fortuna Düsseldorf. “Even though we were unable to impress in attack, our biggest problem was individually with the defenders,” said coach Pierre de Witt, who is sure after the performance of the Rhine rivals that Fortuna “will win other games” following their first victory of the season.
The Leverkusen U11s secured a runaway win against Fortuna Köln in a friendly. The final score in the second game on the 9-a-side pitch: 14:2.
The U10s also played in a friendly and they deservedly beat the VfB Hilden U11 team 7-2 in four 20-minute quarters. “We’re very happy with the performance,” said coach Alexander Nuss who works alongside Marvin Schmitz with the U10 squad. “We have made clear progress, above all in terms of our game, passing and decision making.”
The U9s had a friendly away to FC Hennef. “We were able to learn a lot from the game,” said coach Greuel who made a positive assessment of the start to the season: “We are happy with the squad and we think they in very good shape.”
FC Köln v Bayer 04 U19 5-0 (L)
Fortuna Düsseldorf v Bayer 04 U15 3-1 (F)
Bayer 04 U14 v Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-1 (L)
FC Köln v Bayer 04 U13 2-5 (L)
Fortuna Düsseldorf v Bayer 04 U12 7-0 (L)
Bayer 04 U11 v Fortuna Köln 14-2 (F)
Bayer 04 U10 v VfB Hilden U11 7-2 (F)
FC Hennef v Bayer 04 U9 o.E. (F)
Bayer 04 U8 v FC Pesch o.E. (F)
(L) = League | (F) = Friendly
Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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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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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without goalkeeper Mark Flekken and forward Nathan Tella for the time being.
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After a week in the Algarve, the Bayer 04 Women returned home on Saturday afternoon. The Werkself had six training sessions, two friendlies and a lot of time together as a team. Roberto Pätzold's team will be back in action in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga next Friday for the start of matchday 15.
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"We didn’t make the right decision at the right moments," said captain Robert Andrich after the 1-0 defeat away to TSG Hoffenheim, where Bayer 04 endeavoured to control the game but failed to score. The Werkself also had two enforced substitutions due to injuries. Nevertheless, the coach, captain and debutant Janis Blaswich are positive about the coming weeks. The Werkself review.
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