Before returning to competitive matches with the rearranged game at SC Freiburg on Sunday, 26 January (12.00 CET, Dreisamstadion), the Leverkusen Women are spending part of their winter break on the Iberian Peninsula. In addition to eight training sessions, there are two friendlies against Villarreal and second division Union Berlin with the squad returning to Leverkusen on Sunday.
The Werkself group set off from the BayArena by coach to Düsseldorf airport shortly after four in the morning. The flight to Alicante left at seven in the morning. Late in the morning, the team completed a coach transfer to the Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Hotel, their base for the next seven nights. The hotel has catered for many professional football teams for decades and has plenty of sporting options in addition to four grass pitches right next to the beach on the Costa del Azahar.
From the Bundesliga squad, Loreen Bender (recovery after tonsillitis operation), Juliette Vidal (broken nose in the friendly against Anderlecht), Vanessa Haim (back problems) and the long-term absentee Sofia Cava Marin (torn cruciate) did not travel to Spain. Goalkeeper Louisa Remien, Paula Schwartze, Jana Lindner and Kirkellis Lillemets (all from the Bayer 04 U20 team) have joined the squad. The newly signed midfielder Ruby Grant will join her new teammates on Monday afternoon.
After lunch and a short rest the Leverkusen Women made their way to the training ground in the afternoon a few minutes walk from the hotel. Pätzold let his team work on the ball for starters. That included a range of passing drills as well as possession and positional play with the session ending in a nine vs nine game.
The first friendly for the Bayer 04 Women in Oliva is on Tuesday, 14 January (12.00 CET) against Villarreal. A day before departure, the team fourth in the Bundesliga play second division Union Berlin, who have their training camp at the same base, on Saturday, 18 January (14.00 CET) with a 3×40 minutes match. The group fly back to Germany on Sunday morning. The complete winter timetable is HERE.
From the 2027/28 season, the Women’s Bundesliga will be organised by an independent league association. Following the unanimous decision taken at the DFB Bundestag (national conference) on Friday afternoon, the league’s separation from the DFB is now official.
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Following the Bundesliga clash against RB Leipzig (Sunday, 20 September, 15:30 CEST), some of the Werkself first team players will be heading off for the first international break of the season. Here is an overview of the Bayer 04 players called up for their national teams and all the details of their upcoming matches.
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A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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