“As the second division leaders, Viktoria Berlin are the toughest possible draw in the first round. That makes it all the easier for us to keep the excitement levels high and stay in competitive rhythm ahead of the international break,” said Pätzold: “We’ve shown we can perform away from home and we’re taking our opponents very seriously. Much like Union Berlin or VfB Stuttgart in the past, they are not your typical second-division side; instead, they have big ambitions and boast several players with top-flight experience. There is absolutely no reason to underestimate them.” Viktoria’s six wins from their first seven second-division matches speak for themselves.
The 47-year-old, who was born in Bernau near Berlin, is also following the Berlin club’s overall project with interest. “By focusing on women in the football business and through its extensive marketing, the club is doing a great deal to boost the promotional impact of women’s football.” In his view, therefore, Viktoria would “certainly be a great asset to the Women’s Bundesliga”.
Regardless of the opposition, the Werkself want to put their own style of play into practice on the pitch. “Our principles – regardless of the opposition – are, above all, a high tempo, high intensity and a direct attacking approach,” said Pätzold. If they can stick to this consistently, it will be difficult for the second-tier side to keep up for the entire match – “bearing in mind that, as the underdogs in an all-or-nothing game, they can take more risks,” the coach pointed out.
He is pleased with the team’s start to the season, having picked up nine points from five matches, all of which were away fixtures. “We’ve delivered given the pressure of expectations from ourselves and the public. We could have picked up points in the two difficult home matches too (Wolfsburg and Bayern, ed.),” said Pätzold.
As far as the squad is concerned, there are signs that at least one player is set to return. Natasha Kowalski is fit again after recovering from illness. Captain Carolin Simon returned to full training this week following her muscle injury. Cornelia Kramer (personal reasons), Valentina Mädl (muscle injury), Melissa Friedrich (knock) and Amy Wrigge (torn cruciate) are currently sidelined.
Anyone wishing to support the Bayer 04 women’s team in person in Berlin can get tickets for the match at the Lichterfelde Stadium HERE. There is also a ZDF livestream starting at 13:50 CEST HERE.
“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
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It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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