
As usual, the pre-season starts with performance tests at the Werkstatt facility at the BayArena on Thursday and Friday, 5 and 6 July from 08.00 CET. While the tests are held behind closed doors, Werkself fans will have the chance to see their team on the training ground after the summer break. When the squad return to the training ground at 11.00 CET on Saturday 7 July, it will be the first run-out for new signings Lukas Hradecky, Mitchell Weiser and Thorsten Kirschbaum. The Brazilian Paulinho will join his team-mates on 15 July. The two players at World Cup, Tin Jedvaj, who is with Croatia for the quarter-final against Russia on Saturday, and Julian Brandt, on a well-deserved holiday after Germany's exit, will be at the training camp in Zell am See-Kaprun at the end of the month.
The Bayer 04 players will soon be back in the saddle after the return to work: Heiko Herrlich has organised a three-day 'training camp' on bikes for his players – definitely with one eye on focusing his group on the targets for the season ahead. The Werkself team start in Bad Bertrich and will complete the 200 kilometre ride back to Leverkusen in three stages: On Sunday 8 July from Bad Bertrich to Koblenz, on Monday from Koblenz to Bonn and finally, on Tuesday 10 July, the last leg from Bonn to the BayArena. That is followed by two days off on Wednesday and Thursday, 11 and 12 July, before an open training session back home at 16.00 CET on Friday 13 July.

Attention, Werkself fans: the new Away Matchday Collection is now available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt. It includes t-shirts, zip tops and jackets.
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Season tickets for the Werkself home matches in the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season are now on general sale. The season ticket is valid for all 13 matches at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The first home match will be played between 28 and 31 August against the runners-up, VfL Wolfsburg, followed by the clash with the German champions, Bayern Munich, between 11 and 14 September.
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A new team, a new environment, a new challenge—and yet one thing remains the same for Afonso Moreira: his attitude. Total dedication, discipline, and the drive to improve every day have defined the Portuguese player since his early days at Sporting CP. “Even back then, I realized I had to work hard to achieve my goals,” said the 21-year-old. His parents also instilled those values in him from a young age. Values that have driven him ever since, accompanied him to France when he signed for Lyon, and now also form the foundation for his new chapter at Bayer 04. At a media session, the lightning-fast winger spoke about his values, as well as his new teammates, the new coach, and his targets at the club.
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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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