On the return of Xabi Alonso, the mayor of San Sebastian, Eneko Goia, introduced the 2010 Spanish World Cup winner. Alonso and Javier García, president of the Fundación Columbus, fielded questions from media. We bring you the key statements from the Bayer 04 head coach.
Xabi Alonso on...
…the background to the game: We are united for a good cause. I encourage everybody to come along as the reason for this match is very special. We will help a lot of families with the proceeds from the game. Help to change the lives of a lot of children. It's a day to party.
...the meeting with Real Sociedad: A lot of people will be coming to the game who I know from my time here. I've shared a lot with them, they are very close to my heart. They are building a great project here, which is admired throughout the world, and they are doing that with lots of energy. I'm very much looking forward to seeing them all again.
...the sporting aspect of the clash: We are in the preseason exactly as are La Real We want to approach this friendly so that everybody can play. And we want to win it.
…the club Real Sociedad: I really learned a lot in my three years here as coach. Now I'm able to implement my knowledge at a big club like Bayer 04 with an outstanding team. Lots of players in the reserve side, who I trained here a year ago, have made the step up to the first team. It's a good team full of energy. The club has made impressive progress in recent years.
In their third friendly of this pre-season, Bayer 04 played on home soil for the first time – and won there too! The Werkself claimed a comfortable 4-0 victory against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. Jeanuel Belocian (9’) and Nathan Tella (42’) gave a dominant Leverkusen a 2-0 lead at the break, which Afonso Moreira (51’) and Christian Kofane (53’) doubled after the break. Among the many second-half substitutions was Patrik Schick, who made his first friendly appearance of the summer.
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The Werkself are finally back. On Saturday 8 August, Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign with their opening match. But there’s far more than just a double-header in store for Werkself supporters. True to the motto ‘One day. Two teams. One club’, the BayArena and the Ulrich Haberland Stadium will be transformed into a world of excitement.
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The Werkself continue their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with their third friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Wednesday 29 July (kick-off 15:00 CEST). Werkself-TV is broadcasting the match live and in full in a stream from 14:50 CEST...
After the children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy grilled Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch last week, another group of 20 young Werkself fans gathered at the BayArena press conference room on Tuesday afternoon, 28 July . This time, the kids directed their questions at Tim Oermann and Jonah Berghoff. Defender Oermann raved about his school days, whilst talented midfielder Berghoff revealed to the young footballers, amongst other things, who his favourite player is – and he is also at Bayer 04. To round things off, the pair naturally obliged with all requests for autographs and selfies.
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Bayer 04 are back on the pitch. Following the first training sessions, the Werkself play the first pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 18. The match against Oberliga club Sportfreunde Baumberg kicks off at 15:30 CEST in Monheim am Rhein. Fans unable to attend the match can watch head coach Carles Martínez’s first game in charge for free via a livestream at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app, as well as on Werkself.tv (exclusively for members). Just log on and watch the games live. All the other Werkself preseason friendlies leading up to the 2026/27 season will also be streamed live for free.
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