Just before 10:30 this morning: Gerardo Seoane plus his two assistant coaches Patrick Schnarwiler and Alberto Encinas, were the first on the training pitch one. Before they went on to the pitch, the trio had a chat with the youngest of the Bayer 04 supporters present. After the session, Seoane talked about fans returning to the training ground: "It's particularly great for the children to be able to be so close the players, have their photos taken with them and be able to get their autographs. We are very happy that the fans came to see us."
The Werkself players were led out onto the pitch fifteen minutes later by Kerem Demirbay and Timothy Fosu-Mensah. The duo were fully fit at the first session after recovering from injuries in the closing stages of last season and they were joined by Jeremie Frimpong and Karim Bellarabi.
The 75-minute session began with different warm-up drills and then the focus was primarily on working with the ball. A relaxed but concentrated start for the Werkself with youngsters Zidan Sertdemir and Iker Bravo joined by the youth players Ayman Aourir, Christian Schwieren, Noah Pesch, Ingyom Jung, Jardell Kanga plus goalkeeper Maximilian Neutgens. Also involved were the players returning from loan in Ayman Azhil (RKC Waalwijk/Netherlands) and Mitchell Weiser (Werder Bremen) plus U19 new signing Madi Monamay, who joined Leverkusen a few days ago from KRC Genk.
Nadiem Amiri, who played for the Italian club CFC Genoa on loan in the second half of last season, trained in the facilities at the BayArena. Paulinho has been ill recently but, according to Seoane on Monday, " he should be back on the plane as soon as possible." In addition, Charles Aránguiz had problems with his return flight from South America and the Chile international is expected to return to Leverkusen in the middle of the week.
As with the first training session of the summer, the other Werkself sessions this week are open to the fans. Up to Saturday, Seoane will be working with Andrich and Co. on the training ground at the BayArena every day at 10.30 CEST with two other sessions planned for 15.00 CEST on Tuesday and Thursday. Wednesday’s training will be held inside the BayArena on Wednesday rather than on the training ground.
Please note: Changes can be made at short notice and Bayer 04 will inform fans of any such changes via the club channels.
The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day three (Tuesday 4 August) begins with a thorough open session on the pitch. After lunch, some players have media engagements at the team hotel, and then the team come together for a barbecue in the evening.
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Nine matches against teams from nine countries, two penalty shoot-outs won, and encounters that went far beyond football: As with last year, the Inklusionswerkself enjoyed an extraordinary week at the Genuine Cup 2026 in Houston, USA, and made memories that will last a lifetime. This year, the Leverkusen side took part as Germany’s official representatives and, accordingly, took to the pitch in Germany kit. Together with 53 teams from 53 nations, the Black and Reds once again sent a powerful message of inclusion and participation – and also impressed on the pitch by winning their group.
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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. The programme for day two (Monday, 3 August) centres on two training sessions – one in the morning (open to the public) and one in the early evening (behind closed doors) – at the nearby training grounds. In the afternoon, fans can look forward to a big fan meet-up with club legend Paulo Sergio at Schloss Blankenhain.
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“Say hello to the Werkself!” – With this request, Loïc Bade gathers everybody in front of his GoPro: Including team-mates like Ibrahim Maza, Lucas Vázquez, Aleix Garcia and Ernest Poku, or Bayer 04 CEO Fernando Carro, head coach Carles Martínez, or even the reception team at the Spa & GolfResort Weimarer Land. In between, there are glimpses of the pool area and the Werkself’s team quarters. Enjoy!
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