Tuesday started with a nice surprise from his teammates for left-back Wendell. At the stroke of midnight, Moussa Diaby, Karim Bellarabi and Co. knocked on the Brazilian’s bedroom door and then presented him with a chocolate cake on his 28th birthday. As at the training camp in 2019, he again spent his birthday in Salzburger Land.
At breakfast, Wendell received further congratulations from the coaches and members of staff and before the morning training session he was also on the end of obligatory birthday speech from the Werkself – as was Marcel Daum, analysis assistant coach at Bayer 04. The Cologne-born Daum is 35. He was given his cake at lunch.
Just before setting off for training, there was a special surprise for Wendell in the lobby of the Hotel Tauern Spa in Kaprun. His fellow countryman Zé Roberto, a player under the Bayer Cross from 1998 to 2002, sent birthday greetings from Brazil. Wendell has always described Zé Roberto as his role model and the two of them played together in 2013/14 at Gremio Porto Alegre (Brazil). We join in with the congratulations for our number 18.
The intensity of the training session was again high on the fifth day in Salzburger Land with the focus this time on the area of match tactics. Head coach Gerardo Seoane spoke to the members of the media present afterwards. In response to the question of whether he was worried about his team not having played a pre-season friendly to date, the Swiss answered: “For me, the glass is always half full. We train more when we don’t play. We know three friendlies isn’t a lot. Therefore, we use the training sessions to play games within the group and we aim to get as close as possible to the intensity of a match.”
Gerardo Seoane has already identified a development in the right direction after a few days in Austria. Seoane added: “The sound level on the pitch has increased over the course of the week. There are more commands and everybody is pushing each other. That is obviously also do the return of experienced players like Julian Baumgartlinger.”
Two players missed the session on Tuesday – but for different reasons. Youngster Emrehan Gedikli was rested as is usual in the pre-season with young players.
Demarai Gray was also missing. The Englishman has left the training camp to sort out his footballing future. He left the Hotel Tauern Spa at six in the morning.
Good news from the UEFA HQ in Nyon: Two Werkself players are on the shortlist for the UEFA ‘Goal of the Season’. Florian Wirtz was nominated for his goal after just 29 seconds against Holland in the semi-finals of the U21 European Championship. With the goal for the 18-year-old, Germany kicked off and no Oranje player touched the ball before the opener.
Patrik Schick is in the running for his shot from almost 50 metres out in the Euro 2020 game between the Czech Republic and Scotland (final score: 2-0). The UEFA shortlist includes ten goals scored in UEFA competitions last season.
It can happen to everybody once: Werkself new signing Andrey Lunev is the guest for the latest edition of our popular social media format ‘Black or Red?’. The Russian, who joined Bayer 04 from Zenit St. Petersburg, answered some interesting either-or questions during his online German course at the training camp in Zell am See. HERE is the video on YouTube.
A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
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On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are bringing back Kerim Alajbegovic, who joined Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2025. The Bundesliga club activated the buy-back option in the contract with the Bosnia international, who has enjoyed great success at the Austrian top-flight club since the start of the current season. Alajbegovic moved to Salzburg from the Leverkusen U19s last year. The 1.86-metre forward has signed a five-year contract at Leverkusen with a start date of 1 July 2026.
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Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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