Bayer 04 will be based in Austria from 14 to 22 July – in cooperation with the tourism partner SalzburgerLand, the Werkself will again stay at the Hotel Tauern Spa in Kaprun and complete their training sessions at the Alois Latini Stadium, home to FC Zell am See.
Lukas Hradecky, Patrik Schick & Co. will play Panathinaikos on Sunday 17 July (kick-off: 17.00 CEST) at the pitch in close proximity to the lake Zeller See. The club from the Greek capital have won the league title 20 times and last season the team under coach Ivan Jovanovic lifted the national cup and finished the season top of the Super League. This will not be the first meeting for Bayer 04 with the top Greek club. Panathinaikos and the Werkself faced each other in the Round of 16 in the European Cup Winners Cup in the 1993/94 season. Bayer 04 progressed to the next round with a 4-1 win after losing 2-1 in the first leg.
The Werkself have also played competitive matches against Udinese, the second opponents at the training camp – and that was four times within just 15 months in the UEFA Cup: Bayer 04 progressed through the first round against Italian club in 1998/1999 (1-1, 1-0) with Udinese coming out on top in the third round in the following season (1-0, 1-2). The team including former Bundesliga player Tolgay Arslan (including Hamburg SV) finished twelfth in Italy's top flight last season. The friendly will be played on Thursday 21 June (kick-off: 17.00 CEST), also at the Alois Latini Stadium.
The first match in the preseason ahead of the 2022/23 campaign will be five days before heading off to Austria. Bayer 04 will play third division MSV Duisburg in Velbert on Saturday 9 July. The kick-off will be at 15.30 CEST and information on ticket sales for the match at the IMS Arena HERE.
All Werkself friendlies will be broadcast live on the Bayer 04 YouTube channel.
A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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