
And they also appear to be getting on really well off the pitch. In a photo shoot for the new Bayer 04 catalogue the strike duo posed for a number of photos and enjoyed every minute of it. At the end they went on their mobile phones to send a message to Werkself fans across the world from the training camp in Zell am See-Kaprun.
>> Click here for the new official merchandise
Goals galore in practice match
Volland and Chicharito looked sharp on the training ground before the photo shoot. A practice match with two 30-minute halves at the Alois Latini Stadium they played up front in the team in red training tops and managed to score a goal or two. The friendly match against Regional League side SC Teutonia on Saturday night was abandoned on twelve minutes due to a thunderstorm.
>> The practice match was shown live on Facebook and is available on demand <<
All clear for Wendell
There was a scare at the end of the first training session on Sunday. Brazilian defender Wendell fell awkwardly and had to limp off the pitch. That was a reminder of his serious injury at the end of April but he was given the all clear in the afternoon. He took it easy in the second session working on his own but he should return to full training today – the same applies to Julian Baumgartlinger who has yet to train with the Werkself in his own country due to a groin injury.
Leno meets Özcan
His fellow countryman Ramazan Özcan also missed out for a few days with a slight groin problem but ‘Rambo’ was almost fully fit again on Sunday so he was able to train with new team-mate Bernd Leno for the first time. Leno returned from holiday at the weekend after the European Championships.
Black and red cable car
The club colours of black and red are a common sight around the team hotel in Kaprun and the training ground in Zell am See. A valley station on the Areitbahn saw Stefan Kießling board a black and red car with a Bayer 04 logo last year as one of the first to make the journey up the mountain.
#B04inAustria - “What does Wuchtel mean?”
Anybody looking to improve their knowledge of Austrian German can follow a beginners language course with Julian Baumgartlinger and Rambo Özcan. Every day, the two new signings introduce fans to a new word commonly used in Austria online under the hashtag #B04inAustria . You can also follow #B04inAustria to keep up-to-date with the movements of the Werkself in SalzburgerLand. It’s worth a look. There is also a video message from Chicharito and Kevin Volland.


In their third friendly of this pre-season, Bayer 04 played on home soil for the first time – and won there too! The Werkself claimed a comfortable 4-0 victory against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. Jeanuel Belocian (9’) and Nathan Tella (42’) gave a dominant Leverkusen a 2-0 lead at the break, which Afonso Moreira (51’) and Christian Kofane (53’) doubled after the break. Among the many second-half substitutions was Patrik Schick, who made his first friendly appearance of the summer.
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The Werkself are finally back. On Saturday 8 August, Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign with their opening match. But there’s far more than just a double-header in store for Werkself supporters. True to the motto ‘One day. Two teams. One club’, the BayArena and the Ulrich Haberland Stadium will be transformed into a world of excitement.
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The Werkself continue their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with their third friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Wednesday 29 July (kick-off 15:00 CEST). Werkself-TV is broadcasting the match live and in full in a stream from 14:50 CEST...

After the children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy grilled Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch last week, another group of 20 young Werkself fans gathered at the BayArena press conference room on Tuesday afternoon, 28 July . This time, the kids directed their questions at Tim Oermann and Jonah Berghoff. Defender Oermann raved about his school days, whilst talented midfielder Berghoff revealed to the young footballers, amongst other things, who his favourite player is – and he is also at Bayer 04. To round things off, the pair naturally obliged with all requests for autographs and selfies.
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Bayer 04 are back on the pitch. Following the first training sessions, the Werkself play the first pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 18. The match against Oberliga club Sportfreunde Baumberg kicks off at 15:30 CEST in Monheim am Rhein. Fans unable to attend the match can watch head coach Carles Martínez’s first game in charge for free via a livestream at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app, as well as on Werkself.tv (exclusively for members). Just log on and watch the games live. All the other Werkself preseason friendlies leading up to the 2026/27 season will also be streamed live for free.
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