Following on from Patrik Schick and Charles Aránguiz, Exequiel Palacios is the third international player back in Leverkusen at the start of the second week of the preseason. The midfielder completed large parts of full training in the first session of the new season. Head coach Gerardo Seoane focused on a range of moves in restricted space.
After the joint warm-up routine, Schick worked one-to-one on his finishing with fitness coaches Schahriar Bigdeli and Daniel Jouvin.
This week, Robert Andrich and Co. will be on training pitch one daily from 10.30 CEST by the BayArena. All sessions are open to Black and Red fans. The Seoane team also have a second session in the stadium on Tuesday 5 July and Thursday 7 July.
Please note: Changes may be made at short notice, Bayer 04 will inform fans via the club media.
The Werkself play the first preseason friendly on Saturday 9 July. The match against third division MSV Duisburg is in Velbert at 15.30 CEST. The ticket office at the IMS Arena is open two hours before kick-off at 13.30 CEST.
The 4 x 100 metre relay team of German para-athletes set a new record on Friday 1 July at the home meeting for TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen at the Fritz Jacobi facility: First leg runner Phil Grolla, Johannes Floors, Markus Rehm and final leg runner Felix Streng completed the run in an incredible 40.52 seconds and are now the new world record holders.
The previous record time of 40.73 seconds was set by the USA at the 2013 World Cup in Lyon. "Of course, we hoped we could do that time. But it's simply fantastic that it really happened in the end," raved Rehm following the race.
A number of TSV athletes also produced personal bests at the home meeting. Congratulations and great respect for all the performances.
Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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The next footballing highlight is just around the corner: the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 23rd edition of the tournament, will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico and feature 48 teams for the first time. Bayer04.de has all the latest on the Werkself players called up to represent their countries.
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While the majority of the Bayer 04 Women are enjoying their summer break, nine Werkself players will be on duty for their national teams in the coming days. Three of them are competing for a place at the World Cup, while six are involved in two friendlies with the Germany U23 team.
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