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.
Tickets for the first two Bayer 04 women’s team home games are now on general sale. A week after their league opener away at RB Leipzig, Roberto Pätzold’s side will face last season’s runners-up, VfL Wolfsburg, in the first home fixture on Sunday 30 August (kick-off: 16:00 CEST). Fifteen days later, on Monday night, 14 September (kick-off: 18:00 CEST), the Leverkusen Women host German champions Bayern Munich at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium for a top-of-the-table league clash. You can now also select specific seats via the online shop. The latest information on match ticket sales.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended midfielder Noah Mbamba’s contract by twelve months and sent the Belgian U21 international on loan to France. At FC Lorient, the 21-year-old – whose contract at Leverkusen now runs to 30 June 2029 – is set to gain playing time in Ligue 1 and, through strong performances and further development, put himself in the running for a future place in the Werkself squad.
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Spurred on by a flawless hat-trick from Cornelia Kramer, the Bayer 04 women’s team won their penultimate pre-season friendly in commanding fashion. As part of the season launch, the Werkself beat Dutch top-flight side Feyenoord 7–0. In front of 3,000 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, Kramer (6’, 25’, 45’), Sofie Zdebel (47’), Maja Sternad (59'), Natasha Kowalski (83') and Vanessa Fudalla (86') scored the goals for coach Roberto Pätzold’s side.
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The Shareholders’ Committee of Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH has extended the contracts of the two managing directors, Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes, ahead of schedule. The CEO, Fernando Carro (62), will continue in his role until 30 June 2029, and managing director sport Simon Rolfes (44) will remain in post until 30 June 2031.
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