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.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended Abdoulaye Faye’s contract by a further year to 30 June 2031. During the 2026/27 season, the talented defender will play for Celta Vigo on loan without an option to buy. The 21-year-old Senegalese is set to feature in La Liga and the UEFA Europa League with last season’s sixth-placed side in Spain.
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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. The programme on day one (Sunday 2 August) includes a media round with managing director sport Simon Rolfes, free time for the team after the friendly against Rot-Weiss Essen and before an intensive week of training begins, as well as a coffee get-together where CEO Fernando Carro and Rolfes met around 100 fans in the afternoon.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed Kerim Alajbegovic’s transfer to Italian record champions Juventus. The club brought the 18-year-old attacking player back to Leverkusen this summer via a buy-back option, following a season at Red Bull Salzburg. Until his move to Austria, the Bosnia international had been playing for Bayer 04’s Under-19s.
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A warm welcome to the Weimarer Land, Bayer 04! The Werkself moved into their accommodation for this year’s training camp on Saturday evening. In Blankenhain, Thuringia, head coach Carles Martínez’s team have a programme of gruelling training sessions – several of which will be open to fans – and team-building activities lined up for the next six days. We’ll be following the Werkself up close and providing you with exclusive insights, quotes, photos and videos from the training camp.
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With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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