After a tiring day, consisting of the journey to Salzburger Land following on from the friendly at SV Sandhausen, there was no alternative for the Werkself: evening meal and off to bed.
So much for sunshine
The surrounding Pinzgau Moors were shrouded in thick fog on Monday morning. On top of that, there was pouring rain – filthy weather or 'grim' as the locals call it. That was on the way after the afternoon sunshine was replaced by hail and strong winds. Nevertheless, the Alpine panorama remains impressive, even in grey, although everybody would have been happier with some sunshine…
Henrichs, Leno and Brandt eagerly awaited
The Werkself were strengthened with the addition of three players this morning: The newly crowned Confed Cup winners Julian Brandt, Benjamin Henrichs and Bernd Leno were the latest three players to arrive at the team HQ. While most of the Bayer 04 squad were in the land of nod, the night was done and dusted for the trio. The flight from Düsseldorf left at 6.30 bound for Salzburg where the late arrivals were collected by Bayer 04 driver Werner Rüsen and brought to the hotel. Referee Rainer Werthmann was also on board as he is due to address the squad in the afternoon on changes to the rules of the game.
Extended break for Charles Aránguiz
The Werkself are still waiting for Charles Aránguiz. The 28-year-old Chilean was only expected to return to Leverkusen on Monday after his participation in the Confed Cup. In agreement with coach Heiko Herrlich, he has been allowed to have a longer break and will rejoin the squad in a weeks time. The holding midfielder – as with the German Confed Cup players – will complete the performance tests and the pre-season medical at the BayArena.
Dragovic - king of regenerative training
The pre-season is a time of intense training. That also goes for the Werkself. For the lads involved in the match against SV Sandhausen on Sunday afternoon the day started with a regeneration session in the hotel's gymnasium. At least it was dry there – while Jonathan Tah, André Ramalho and Lars Bender were exposed to the elements in a session at the Alois Latini Stadium. Heiko Herrlich and his fellow coaches invited the players outside in the afternoon: In the pouring rain, Aleksandar Dragovic was the clear winner in a precision and stamina course - ahead of Sam Schreck and Vladlen Yurchenko who were equal on points.
Reduced workout for three pros
Three players in the Herrlich squad had a more sedate start on the first day of training: Karim Bellarabi was on the pitch in the afternoon for a session with fitness coach Daniel Jouvin to organise his training regime. Kevin Kampl and Lars Bender, who was suffering with a slight cold, trained in the team hotel.
Stefan Reinartz visits the Werkself
There was another reunion in the evening. This time with an old friend. Stefan Reinartz, who played for the Bayer 04 youth and first teams between 1999 and 2015, took the opportunity to visit his former club at the Bayer 04 training camp in Salzburger Land. The 28-year-old former pro, who now looks after other Bundesliga clubs as well as the Werkself, travelled to Zell am See together with Bayer 04 sporting manager Jonas Boldt and he will spend a couple of days with the team.
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