Hannes Wolf welcomed 21 players to his first session in Bayer 04 kit. In addition to Niklas Lomb, the U19 goalkeepers Marcel Johnen and Jakob Brambach donned their gloves as well. Lukas Hradecky trained separately following his Achilles injury and Lennart Grill is set to play for Germany on Wednesday night against Hungary in the U21 European Championship (kick-off: 21.00 CET/ProSieben).
Also on board under clear blue skies were Emrehan Gedikli, Cem Türkmen and Samed Onur plus the U19 players Yannick Schlösser and Achunike-Elijah Ekene. Recently injured players Paulinho and Sven Bender completed large parts of the session. After the warm-up routine, the Werkself players completed passing drills under the guidance of assistant coach and Bayer 04 stalwart Peter Hermann. The 69-year-old directed operations, issued instructions and gave advice – as he has always done in his long career.
Then it became more intensive: In a restricted space, outnumbered situations were created where goalscoring opportunities had to be battled for. Under the eyes of Fernando Carro, chairman of the board, and sporting director Simon Rolfes, Wolf interrupted proceedings a number of times to give players instructions. "We have so much pace in the team, we have to use it," was just one of the many messages from the 39-year-old.
While Charles Aránguiz and Co worked with the fitness coaches at the end of the session, Wolf's assistant Hermann gathered together the youngest players. He led passing and shooting practice with the five U19 outfield players plus goalkeepers Johnen and Brambach. At exactly 12.30 CET, Wolf, Hermann, Miguel Moreira and Co. left the training ground together after the first session was completed.
Wolf will hold his next session on Thursday with his first match as Werkself head coach coming up on Easter Saturday, 3 April (kick-off: 15.30 CEST) when bottom of the table Schalke 04 visit the BayArena. In the clash with the Royal Blues there should be a similar approach as in the first training session led by new coach Wolf.
In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
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Following the summer break, most of the players are back in Leverkusen. While two Bayer 04 first-team players are still in action at the World Cup, the players present officially kicked off the new season with fitness assessments. At the Werkstatt, the Bayer 04 rehabilitation and training centre, Robert Andrich, Edmond Tapsoba and the rest of the squad worked up quite a sweat in the sweltering summer heat. New signings Afonso Moreira and Kennet Eichhorn also successfully completed the day’s sessions alongside their new team-mates.
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The Werkself return tomorrow, Tuesday 14 July (from 11:00 CEST at the BayArena; live stream on bayer04.de, the Bayer 04 app and YouTube), with new head coach Carles Martínez leading his first training session as part of the Bayer 04 set-up. His coaching team comprises a mix of new and long-standing colleagues.
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The FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico is underway. A total of eight Leverkusen players are taking part in the 23rd World Cup, with 48 teams in the tournament for the first time. Bayer04.de brings you all the latest from Werkself players at the World Cup.
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