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."
Ten years after retiring as a player, Kristina Sundov is returning to the Bayer 04 Women’s team as assistant coach. The 39-year-old former Croatia international takes over from Remzi Kahraman, who has taken up a new challenge abroad. She has been given a contract to 30 June 2028.
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The training pitches at the BayArena are already buzzing with activity again, even before training officially begins next week. On Monday morning, a small group from the Werkself first-team squad completed a session lasting around an hour. Both new and familiar faces were present.
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One ticket, two matches – and a varied programme of events, including appearances by players from the professional teams: Bayer 04 has come up with something very special for the 2026 season launch on Saturday, 8 August. From morning right through to the evening, Werkself fans can use just one ticket to not only enjoy top-class football from the Bayer 04 teams live, but also to experience unforgettable moments with the whole family through a variety of hands-on activities around the BayArena and the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The day will also end on a real high note: after both matches, Bayer 04 supporters will have the opportunity to interact directly with the players during joint activities and get to know them from a different angle.
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Issa Traoré is moving from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Slovakian top-flight side AS Trencin. The club has loaned the centre-back out for one year to this year’s ninth-placed team in the Slovakian league.
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