Extra shift for Rambo Özcan
That impression was confirmed by Rambo Özcan. While his fellow players had already arrived back at the team hotel on the team bus, the number two to Bernd Leno put in extra work with goalkeeping coach David Thiel: The task at hand was to chase after low balls and cut them off. The 33-year-old Austrian was clearly enjoying himself. And the wet turf played its part too.
Play, fun and set pieces
The Werkself pros tasted fresh air in their football boots twice on Tuesday. In the first session, Heiko Herrlich's team practice set pieces and switching play. The strenuous training sessions on Tuesday made their mark on the legs of the Werkself players but the defensive part of the team gave their all and got stuck in to prevent conceding goals. Both teams develop their own strategy. Effort after effort when begging before Stefan Kießling finally got the ball over the line. The following celebrations underlined the relief at the success of their own creativity. And the joy. Kevin Volland certainly enjoyed the latter with two of his shots from free kicks impressively landing in the back of the net. The first skillfully in the top corner and the second bottom corner with the help of the wall. Never mind, the fact it went in was the main thing.
Water fight in the afternoon
The persistent rain saw the second session developed into a true water fight. Sometimes the ball got stuck in a puddle and others the difficult surface prevented a clean finish. The toughest opponent was often the pitch. Not least with efforts on goal. Team-mates slipping up entertained the others including the coaching staff.
VIP guests at training
The Werkself not only attracted fans to the Alois Latini Stadium. A number of football VIPs attended the morning session. In addition to the Bayer 04 members of management Rudi Völler and Jonas Boldt, training session was watched by the Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff, assistant coach Marcus Sorg and DFB manager Thomas Beheshti. Plus former Bayer 04 Pro Stefan Reinartz and Marcus Kauczinski, former coach Bundesliga team FC Ingolstadt.
Football on mobile phones
The time spent waiting for the evening meal saw Sven Bender do what he likes doing best: football. He sat down in the corner of the hotel lobby and watched – later accompanied by his brother Lars – parts of the Regional League game of his first professional club 1860 Munich broadcast live. The evening entertainment continued after the meal. Unfortunately he was unable to do anything about the 1-0 defeat at TSV. Buchbach.
Takeover by Danger and Kevin Volland
There was a highly amusing story on the Bayer 04 Instagram channel today. The two mates Kevin Volland and Joel Pohjanpalo gave Bayer 04 fans an exclusive and amusing insight into the Werkself daily routine. It's worth looking in. Click here for the Instagram channel: >> www.instagram.com/bayer04fussball
#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.
Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
Show more
Fun, games and promising talent: At the fourth Bayer 04 Junior Girls’ Talent Day at the Kurtekotten training centre, 90 football-mad girls had the chance to put themselves forward for the Werkself youth teams. During a 90-minute training session, children born between 2011 and 2019 had the chance to demonstrate their skills.
Show more
Austria or Kosovo? Claudia Wenger or Lumbardha Misini? Only one of these two Bayer 04 women will see her dream of competing at the World Cup in Brazil (24 June to 25 July 2027) live on beyond the next two weeks. From a Leverkusen perspective, the two direct clashes between the Werkself players as they battle for a place in the second play-off round stand out during the upcoming international break. For several other players, the chance of a World Cup place is also at stake. Bayer04.de provides an overview of the women’s international call-ups.
Show more
Despite the international break, numerous Werkself fans turned up at the BayArena on Saturday 3 October. The occasion: Bayer 04, together with Bayer Vital and main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer, organised a Health Day. In the stadium’s Premium Lounge, guests listened to fascinating talks on the subject of cancer, featuring, amongst others, Bayer 04 record appearance holder Rüdiger Vollborn and former Werkself player Hans Sarpei. Afterwards, young and old alike enjoyed interactive stations such as a grip strength test and eye pupil test.
Show more
