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.
Kicking off the new season with a fresh look: Bayer 04, in collaboration with sportswear manufacturer New Balance, has unveiled the official kit for Leverkusen’s e-Sports players for the coming season. The jersey is now available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.
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Paulo Sergio and Bayer 04 have enjoyed close ties since the Werkself training camp in his native Brazil last summer. The club legend is in charge of the Bayer 04 Soccer Academy, which opened in the summer of 2025, and he has also been at this year’s training camp in the Weimarer Land. As well as interacting with the many fans who travelled to the camp, the 1994 World Cup winner used the time to plan the next steps for the Academy together with club officials. In an interview with bayer04.de, Sergio spoke about the project’s future development, the upcoming visit by young Academy players to Leverkusen, and plans for the coming months in Germany and Brazil.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day five (Thursday 6 August) is as follows: The squad have the final open session of the training camp in the morning. After lunch, there will be a team event.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day four (Wednesday 5 August) is all about training. The day begins with a gruelling open training session – new signing Miguel Gutiérrez also takes part. A second session follows in the afternoon, this time behind closed doors.
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At the training camp in the Weimarer Land region, Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez and his long-standing assistant Pol García talk about their first few weeks with the Werkself, their expectations of their own work, the coaching staff and the squad, as well as the style of football they want the team to play. They emphasise the importance of a winning mentality within the team, comment on cultural and personal differences in the world of football, and outline their goals for the coming season...
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