"I really feel at home here straightaway, the facilities are brilliant. The players have great energy and have invested a lot of passion on the pitch," said Pätzold on his first day of coaching: "The atmosphere was very positive and I have a good feeling that our new coaching team will work well together. I'll be happy if it carries on like that over the next few days." The 44-year-old coach was joined by the new assistant Friederike Mehring as well as the second assistant Remzi Kahraman, up to now an individual coach with the Bayer 04 Women..
Some members of the squad were absent: Sylwia Matysik and Lilla Turányi, who were in action with their national sides after the end of the season, are still on holiday. Melissa Friedrich (torn ankle ligament), Delice Boboy (exams), Anne Moll (Wisdom tooth operation), Estrella Merino Gonzalez (injured) and Charlotte Voll (shoulder operation) also missed the first training session.
Katharina Piljić, the first summer signing for the Leverkusen women's team, made her first outing on the training ground. The midfielder from SGS Essen joined the training session alongside Louisa Remien (keeper), Ida Daedelow, Nina Hainke, Chiara Kaiser, Jana Lindner and Sena Fukumoto from the Bayer 04 youth ranks. The sextet have a chance to make a name for themselves over the coming weeks.
After a warm-up routine and a couple of passing drills in restricted space, Pätzold started off by having his new team work with the ball. The second part of the session followed with a game on half the pitch.
The first friendly is on Saturday 29 June against second division FSV Gütersloh (Kick-off: 12.00 CEST, Kurtekotten Performance Centre). After two more friendlies and a two-week break there will be a training camp in Katowice from 31 July to 5 August. That will be followed by another three friendlies against European opponents. The 2024/25 Bundesliga season begins at the end of August. The Werkself are in action in the second round of the DFB Pokal a week later.
The summer agenda for the Women's team can be found HERE.
Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
Show more
A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
Show more
A rematch in Athens: On Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), the Werkself face Greek double winners Olympiacos for the second time this season at the Karaiskakis Stadium. After the encounter in the league phase, it's now time for the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-offs. Ahead of the game, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about how his side will approach the clash, while captain Robert Andrich explained how the team will try to dampen the atmosphere in the stadium tomorrow.
Show more
With the much-celebrated 2-1 derby win against 1. FC Köln, the Bayer 04 Women underlined their credentials as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. Anyone wishing to support the Werkself in the stadium in the race for third place can now purchase tickets for the home match against FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Tickets are also still available for the upcoming clash against TSG Hoffenheim at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 22 February. The latest information at a glance.
Show more
Let's give it our all one more time! Today, Tuesday 17 February (live on the VBL Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the #B04eSports team play the remaining three preliminary round matches of the fifth and final showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. The Leverkusen console pros go up against 1. FC Nürnberg, 1. FC Magdeburg and Bayern Munich, aiming to secure their place in the offline knockout round and pick up valuable points for the overall table and the battle to get into the final event for the German Club Championship. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
