Day two of the eighth summer training camp in Zell am See started with an intensive session for the Werkself on the pitch next to the Alois Latini Stadium. At a height of 757 metres located between Schmittenhöhe and Erlberg, Jonathan Tah and Co. completed numerous running drills under the guidance of fitness coach Daniel Jouvin and Dr. Malte Krüger, the head sports scientist. The first session of the day in Zell am See ended with a practice match on the main pitch.
While the teammates made their way towards the team bus, Mitchell Weiser and Lucas Alario had a duel on the basketball court. A shoot-out from distance: NBA fan Weiser put Alario, who comes from the basketball nation of Argentina, in his place thanks to his accurate shooting.
While Karim Bellarabi and Demarai Gray trained individually due to muscle problems suffered the day before, Alario and Zidan Sertdemir were involved in the majority of the morning session. After the training session, head coach Gerardo Seoane shared his assessment of the 16-year-old Sertdemir. The Swiss on the new signing from the Danish top-flight club FC Midtjylland: "Zidan is highly talented and has very good attributes - vision and ball control. He will always train with us but not at every session. He's just still very young. Therefore, it's important to build him up step-by-step and take him up to the next level."
The general conditions on site are already at a very good level. "The hotel is very big and we have everything here that we need," said the new Werkself head coach. "And the pitches are in good condition in spite of the bad weather. We're looking forward to the rest of the week."
The Werkself started the second session by Lake Zeller in the afternoon. Alario and Sertdemir sat out training and remained in the Hotel Tauern Spa while their teammates focused on working with the ball. In a tight corridor, passing and attacking moves were practised with and without pressure from opponents. There was a match at the end. While Kerem Demirbay and Co. made their way back to the hotel on the team bus, sporting director Simon Rolfes opted to run. The 39-year-old managed the seven kilometres without any problems – however, he was soaked to the skin due to the rain.
Midfielder Nadiem Amiri did not travel to Austria. The 24-year-old is preparing with the Germany team in Japan for the Olympic Games football tournament. However, a friendly between the team coached by Stefan Kuntz and Honduras on Saturday morning was ended early. Just before the end of the game, the entire Germany team left the pitch with the score at 1-1. Kuntz explained afterwards that central defender Jordan Torunarigha (Hertha Berlin) had been "racially abused." According to Kuntz, the team from the Central American country apologised after the final whistle and the issue "is over for us," but Bayer 04 would again like to emphasise at this point: We believe in diversity and condemn all forms of racism.
Bayer 04 are through to the second round of the DFB Pokal after a 4-0 win at Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday night. The game was paused after only 18 minutes due to a storm over the ground. After a lengthy delay, play resumed and Patrik Schick opened the scoring. Arthur, Christian Kofane and Alejandro Grimaldo made things more comfortable in the second half, as the fourth-tier side had two players sent off.
Show moreThere were no goals across 115 minutes of football between Bayer 04 Women and PSV Eindhoven in Friday’s friendly. Roberto Pätzold’s team played two 45-minute periods before an extra 25 minutes two days prior to heading to Rieden for their training camp. Their Dutch opponents were preparing for their UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifier in 12 days.
Show moreThe first round of the DFB Pokal takes Bayer 04 to Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday. The amateur club have just gained promotion to the fourth-tier Regionalliga Südwest and kicked off their campaign with two impressive wins. Here’s all you need to know as Erik ten Hag makes his competitive bow as Werkself boss at the WIRmachenDRUCK Arena (kick-off: 6pm CEST).
Show moreAfter two months preparing for the new season, the Werkself play the first game of the 2025/26 campaign on Friday, 15 August (kick-off: 18:00 CEST) away to SG Sonnenhof Großaspach in the first round of the DFB Pokal. Ahead of the tie against the team newly promoted to the Regional League South West, head coach Erik ten Hag talked about his approach to the knockout game and his soft spot for cup competitions.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen has a new Premium Partner in its ranks in Düsseldorf company LumenHaus GmbH. The leading provider of networked home energy solutions has initially agreed a one-year partnership with the Bundesliga runners-up to the end of the 2025/26 season.
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