The Werkself players Niklas Lomb, Arthur, Clara Fröhlich and Charlotte Voll got to grips with rolling pins and cookie cutters together with ten children from the self-help organisation 'Chance! Wuppertal' and ten youngsters from the Löwenclub. First of all, they kneaded big balls of dough, then rolled them out before cutting out tasty Christmas biscuits and decorating them with a sweet glaze and colourful chocolate sprinkles. In the thick of it was mascot Brian the Lion who was greeted with high-fives from the children wearing cyan blue Barmenia aprons.
The four players each shared one or two tips from their own childhood with the young Christmas bakers. "We need more flour," said Voll and Lomb reminded his fellow bakers with a smile that they should not "eat so much raw dough." The players were happy to pose for photos and sign autographs on aprons – as well as answer the many questions from the inquisitive children.
"It's great fun. As a family we always like baking together before Christmas. But it's great here with the kids too and you can see how happy they are," said Lomb and he talked about a "really successful event."
A golden oldie by Rolf Zuckowski provided a suitable atmosphere in the Christmas bakery for young and older bakers alike. In addition to football motifs there was even a Brian the Lion mould – and an exciting challenge: Fröhlich and Arthur competed in tandem with one of the youngsters to see who could cut out more Brian the Lion biscuits and put them on the prepared baking tray in 30 seconds. The winners were the Werkself women's team player and her teammate Henry.
"It was great to be with the children," said Fröhlich: "The music also provided a Christmas atmosphere." She added with a smile: "I still very much like baking biscuits at home and not just at Christmas."
Arthur had a rather different experience. "Baking biscuits was really good but also a bit difficult for me at the start," he admitted: "We never did that when I was a child so it was an unusual challenge for me. I will definitely have a go at it at home soon." Voll, a goalkeeper with the Bayer 04 Women's team, was also happy about the "many exciting questions" from the children and her assessment was: "Being with the children was a great bonus for everybody involved. After the event, I'm gradually getting in the mood for Christmas."
The Werkself conceded a late goal to suffer the third defeat of the season in Monday night's Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga fixture on matchday ten. Coach Roberto Pätzold's team lost 2-1 at SC Freiburg. Vanessa Fudalla (65’) scored the only goal for Bayer 04 who are now fifth in the table on 19 points.
Show more
Bayer 04 midfielder Ibrahim Maza was honoured in Paris in the Best Algerian Young Player category at the Fennec d'Or awards for the Algerian Footballer of the Year, organised for the first time by the football journal La Gazette du Fennec. "It's an honour for me," said the 19-year-old, delighted with the award.
Show more
On the back of two wins within four days, Bayer 04 Women round off an intensive Bundesliga week in the Black Forest. Roberto Pätzold's side have the chance to move back up to third place against SC Freiburg in the final fixture of Matchday 10 on Monday (18:00 CET) and draw level on points with second-placed VfL Wolfsburg.
Show more
The last international break of this calendar year features the final qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. An overview of who's playing where and when from a Leverkusen point of view.
Show more
