There were warm greetings from the staff in the hotel and Ricardo Villar, the organiser of the Florida Cup, as Bayer 04 return for the third year in succession. After the evening meal it was more or less straight off to bed after the ten-hour flight from Germany.
Several players arrived separately from their holidays: Aleksandar Dragovic, Karim Bellarabi, Jonathan Tah plus Chicharito, Wendell and Charles Aránguiz. The four youngsters Kai Havertz, Atakan Akkaynak, Sam Schreck and goalkeeper Tomasz Kucz were all on board the Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt. Roberto Hilbert and Robbie Kruse were not on the flight to the training camp. Julian Baumgartlinger is due to arrive later as the Austrian is imminently due to be a father.
Wolf's first contact
The Bayer 04 CEO is unable to join the Florida tour. At the start of the week Michael Schade suffered a broken wrist and arm after slipping on ice. He is due to undergo an operation today. There was a new member of staff present in Jörn Wolf, who started work at Bayer 04 on Tuesday in the role of coach and support team coordinator, and he is sure to make good use of the time in Orlando to learn the ropes in his new job. Werkself players like Hakan Calhanoglu and Jonathan Tah know Wolf from his time as media director at Hamburg SV.
Lehnhoff and Co. lead the way
The first representatives of Bayer 04 arrived at the hotel a day ahead of the others. The vanguard was led by Werkself team liaison manger Peter Lehnhoff and organiser Lennart Coerdt plus Stuart Rickards, Hansi Blum and Martin Kowatzki from the physio and support staff group who set up rooms so that treatment and massage could start as and when required.
Roger Schmidt and his players have two training sessions at ten in the morning and four in the afternoon today. "We are looking forward to it and we know exactly what to expect here. During our stay in Orlando it’s important to promote a feeling of togetherness and have lots of training sessions," said the head coach. The training sessions will be held on the excellent pitches right next to the hotel. The Bayer 04 groundsman Georg Schmitz, who arrived in Orlando on Monday, will work with his American colleagues to ensure the pitches are in perfect condition.
You can keep up-to-date with events in Florida round-the-clock via our hashtag #B04goesUSA. Just log on toTwitter,Facebook,Instagram and Snapchat (@bayer04snaps). Information on the Werkself training camp is available here in German, English and Spanish: >> http://www.bayer04.de/goesUSA <<
A group of about 50 members of the Bayer 04 Football Academy São Paulo visited Leverkusen over the past few days, accompanied by Bayer 04 club legend Paulo Sergio and Luiz Felipe (managing director of academy in São Paulo) for a week full of football, encounters and very special insights. In addition to the Bundesliga away game in Elversberg and the home game against Union Berlin, the visit also featured a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy in Leverkusen and a tour of the Bayer AG facilities. The guests also gained special insights into the club and the world of Bayer 04.
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“Diaby! Diaby! Diaby!” was the cry around the BayArena as the Werkself danced in front of the north stand following their 4-0 win over Union Berlin. Captain Edmond Tapsoba gave his new (and old) teammate a friendly shove forward to take in the acclaim from the fans. The returning Frenchman was typically reserved in thanking the supporters but was clearly emotional about what was happening.
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Bayer 04 produced a dominant and impressive 4-0 win over Union Berlin as they picked up three points in their first home game of the 2026/27 Bundesliga campaign. Exequiel Fernández opened the scoring after only 41 seconds, with Facundo Medina doubling the lead before the half-hour mark. Patrik Schick and Ibrahim Maza continued the procession in the second period, in which Moussa Diaby came on for his first Leverkusen appearance for over three years.
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