"We really got stuck in," said Sven Bender. "But that's what we need now. We don't have much time before the start of the second half of the season."
In the absence of Peter Bosz, who was away from Leverkusen due to a private matter, assistant coach Hendrie Krüzen led the training session. And the long-standing colleague of Peter Bosz pulled out all the stops. In the practice matches on small pitches, he again and again fired up the pros, let the players not taking part do circuits and carried on playing even in the event of small knocks.
However, one player took a hit before the end of the session. Paulinho was left lying on the ground after a challenge. The Brazilian suffered a wound to his mouth and was sent to the dressing room as a precautionary measure. According to the medical section, it is probable that the 18-year-old will be back on the pitch with his team-mates in the next session on Thursday.
The underdogs came out on top in the mini-tournament. The Green team had to thank keeper Lukas Hradecky above all for their triumph and he insisted on a group photo with the winners after the final whistle. The Finland shot-stopper shared the limelight with Lucas Alario, Sam Schreck, Tin Jedvaj, Adrian Stanilewicz, Mitchell Weiser, Dominik Kohr, Herdi Bukusu and Leon Bailey.
There is no squad training on Wednesday; the sessions on Thursday and Friday will not be open to the public.
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.
Show more
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.
Show more
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.
Show more
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.
Show more
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.
Show more
