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 <<
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
Show more
With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
Show more
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
Show more
From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
Show more
Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
Show more
