There was already good news in the camp before Stefan Kießling, Lars Bender & Co. started on the ergometers in the Werkstatt at the BayArena. Youngster Kai Havertz will continue his career at the club he has played for since he was child having agreed a contract extension to 2022. Bayer 04 retain one of Germany's most talented youngsters and a homegrown lad at that.
The performance tests go on until Tuesday and on Wednesday at 10.30 Heiko Herrlich holds his first training session as the Bayer 04 head coach to hopefully start a successful season. There is great anticipation amongst the players. "After the last game of the season in Berlin some of the players came to me and said it can't go on like this," said Jonas Boldt in a media conference on Monday. Everybody at Leverkusen is looking to be positive going into the new season. "I'm not sceptical at all. The most important thing for us is to play as a team again in games," added the Bayer 04 sporting manager.
Internationals set to return
Heiko Herrlich is not yet able to work with his Germany trio Bernd Leno, Julian Brandt and Benny Henrichs as they are on a deserved holiday after winning the Confed Cup. The same applies to Charles Aránguiz who was on the losing side with Chile in the 1-0 defeat in the final against Germany, as well as Chicharito whose Mexico team finished in fourth place. And returnee Dominik Kohr is also enjoying a break after winning the European Championship title with the Germany U21s. All six pros are due to rejoin the squad at the training camp in Zell am See/Kaprun.
The first friendly of the season against SF Baumberg, due to be played on Saturday 8 July, had to be postponed after a fire in the stand in the Jahn Stadium in Langenfeld. Bayer 04 are currently involved in discussions to arrange an alternative friendly against opposition of a similar level.
A cracker of a semi-final at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The Bayer 04 U19 team entertain Bayern Munich on Saturday, 10 May (kick-off: 11:00 CEST/stadium opens: 10:00 CEST). In front of a home crowd, the team led by head coach Sergi Runge, who welcomes back an attacking player, is looking to build on the battling performances from the previous knockout games and "perform at the right moment." Tickets are available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the game will also be broadcast live on Sky.
Show moreBayer 04 have now gone 33 Bundesliga away games in succession without defeat and thereby equalled the record set by Bayern Munich: Jonathan Tah netted the equaliser at 2-2 in added time away to SC Freiburg on his 400th appearance for the Werkself. SCF took a 2-0 lead with a strike from Maximilian Eggestein (44') and a Piero Hincapie own goal (48') before Florian Wirtz pulled a goal back on 82 minutes.
Show moreWerkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-2 draw at SC Freiburg on the 32nd matchday of the Bundesliga 2024/25...
Show moreThe Werkself are away to SC Freiburg on Bundesliga Matchday 32. The penultimate away game of the season is today Sunday, 4 May with a 17:30 CEST kick-off at the Europa Park Stadion. Read on for the latest information in today's matchday news.
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