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.
The season card waiting list, introduced by Bayer 04 last season, is open to Bayer 04 Club members. Read on for further information.
Show more
The Werkself training camp officially began early on Tuesday morning with the landing in Rio de Janeiro. Ahead of the first session in the afternoon local time, bayer04.de profiles the talented youngsters from the youth teams who have travelled to Brazil.
Show more
The welcome in Brazil could not have been more fitting: Paulo Sergio, with a small Bayer 04 delegation, welcomed the Werkself to Rio de Janeiro on the beach in front of the team hotel on Tuesday morning local time. Under clear blue skies, players, coaches and staff joined together for a group photo and then it was off to the rooms and breakfast. Shortly after the Werkself arrived, club legend Paulo Sergio, who will accompany the Werkself over the coming days, talked bayer04.de about these emotional moments for him.
Show more
Preparations for the 2025/26 season are in full swing with the new head coach Erik ten Hag working for the start of the season in the middle of August. After the timings for the first matchdays in the forthcoming Bundesliga season were confirmed a few days ago, we now provide information on the first sale phase for match tickets. The early booker phase, exclusively for Bayer 04 Club members, brings some changes. Read on for further information.
Show more
Bayer 04 are away to SG Sonnenhof Großaspach in the first round of the 2025/26 DFB Pokal. The match is on Friday, 15 August (kick-off: 18:00 CEST) at the WIRmachenDRUCK Arena. Read on for the latest ticket information.
Show more
