After a tiring day, consisting of the journey to Salzburger Land following on from the friendly at SV Sandhausen, there was no alternative for the Werkself: evening meal and off to bed.
So much for sunshine
The surrounding Pinzgau Moors were shrouded in thick fog on Monday morning. On top of that, there was pouring rain – filthy weather or 'grim' as the locals call it. That was on the way after the afternoon sunshine was replaced by hail and strong winds. Nevertheless, the Alpine panorama remains impressive, even in grey, although everybody would have been happier with some sunshine…
Henrichs, Leno and Brandt eagerly awaited
The Werkself were strengthened with the addition of three players this morning: The newly crowned Confed Cup winners Julian Brandt, Benjamin Henrichs and Bernd Leno were the latest three players to arrive at the team HQ. While most of the Bayer 04 squad were in the land of nod, the night was done and dusted for the trio. The flight from Düsseldorf left at 6.30 bound for Salzburg where the late arrivals were collected by Bayer 04 driver Werner Rüsen and brought to the hotel. Referee Rainer Werthmann was also on board as he is due to address the squad in the afternoon on changes to the rules of the game.
Extended break for Charles Aránguiz
The Werkself are still waiting for Charles Aránguiz. The 28-year-old Chilean was only expected to return to Leverkusen on Monday after his participation in the Confed Cup. In agreement with coach Heiko Herrlich, he has been allowed to have a longer break and will rejoin the squad in a weeks time. The holding midfielder – as with the German Confed Cup players – will complete the performance tests and the pre-season medical at the BayArena.
Dragovic - king of regenerative training
The pre-season is a time of intense training. That also goes for the Werkself. For the lads involved in the match against SV Sandhausen on Sunday afternoon the day started with a regeneration session in the hotel's gymnasium. At least it was dry there – while Jonathan Tah, André Ramalho and Lars Bender were exposed to the elements in a session at the Alois Latini Stadium. Heiko Herrlich and his fellow coaches invited the players outside in the afternoon: In the pouring rain, Aleksandar Dragovic was the clear winner in a precision and stamina course - ahead of Sam Schreck and Vladlen Yurchenko who were equal on points.
Reduced workout for three pros
Three players in the Herrlich squad had a more sedate start on the first day of training: Karim Bellarabi was on the pitch in the afternoon for a session with fitness coach Daniel Jouvin to organise his training regime. Kevin Kampl and Lars Bender, who was suffering with a slight cold, trained in the team hotel.
Stefan Reinartz visits the Werkself
There was another reunion in the evening. This time with an old friend. Stefan Reinartz, who played for the Bayer 04 youth and first teams between 1999 and 2015, took the opportunity to visit his former club at the Bayer 04 training camp in Salzburger Land. The 28-year-old former pro, who now looks after other Bundesliga clubs as well as the Werkself, travelled to Zell am See together with Bayer 04 sporting manager Jonas Boldt and he will spend a couple of days with the team.
#B04inAustria –For all the news and updates.
Using the hashtag #B04inAustria, it is possible to keep up-to-date with #Werkself and #Bayer 04 round-the-clock. There are also daily, exclusive stories from the heart of the team on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. It's worth taking a look.
The second friendly and the first goal for the Bayer 04 Women: The Werkself just missed out on their first win in the preseason away to top-flight Dutch side PEC Zwolle. The team led by coach Roberto Pätzold drew 1-1 on Friday afternoon in Wezep. As with the friendly against TSG Hoffenheim (0-2) a number of first-team players were absent. The coach once again shared out time on the pitch for the 20-player squad. The goal of the match was scored by summer signing Vanessa Fudalla (67').
Show moreContinuity under the Cross: After the successful season in 2024/25 with reaching the final of the VBL Club Championship, the two Leverkusen e-sports players Marc and Sean Landwehr have extended their contracts at Bayer 04 by an additional two years. Marc is thereby in his sixth year and Sean in his third year with the Werkself. Together with e-talent Marcus Hüttemann, who has also extended his stay at Bayer 04 Bayer year, completes the current squad for the 2025/26 season.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen have signed centre forward Christian Kofane. The 18-year-old Cameroonian joins Leverkusen from Spanish second tier club Albacete on a contract to 30 June 2029.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen will wear the new away kit for the 2025/26 season at the start of the training camp in Brazil. In conscious contrast to the international aspect of this year's training camp in Rio de Janeiro, kit supplier New Balance has designed a jersey for the Werkself players and all other Bayer 04 teams with distinct links to home.
Show more