After the 1-1 draw in the friendly against Basaksehir, Heiko Herrlich announced the training ground at the Alois Latini Stadium in Zell am See would remain (almost) empty on Friday. The Werkself footballs stayed in their black bags. Instead the squad split up into groups at the team hotel to work on the fixed bikes in the gym. Only Lukas Hradecky was on the pitch as he completed a rehab session with goalkeeping coach David Thiel.
Following the departure of Panos Retsos from the training camp the medics had to put another Werkself pro on the injury list – at least temporarily: Leon Bailey will miss team training for a few days due to a strained ligament in his right shoulder. The 20-year-old picked up the injury in Thursday's friendly when he landed badly in a challenge on 70 minutes. The Jamaican had his arm in a black shoulder-arm bandage for the whole day on Friday. Get well soon, Leon.
After the recovery session and a team meeting, the Werkself squad headed off to the Grand Hotel in Zell am See. SalzburgerLand Tourismus GmbH and Zell am See-Kaprun Tourismus, a partner of Bayer 04 for six years, issued an invitation to a traditional reception with yodellers and Schuhplattler dancers. While Rudi Völler, Heiko Herrlich, Julian Baumgartlinger and Rambo Özcan, after a photograph together on the sun-drenched terrace at the Grand Hotel, took part in a 'summer talk show' for the media present, the rest of the Werkself went the other way. According to the motto: Dig into the lunch buffet! At the media event, Völler praised the "great care and very good facilities" – from the training pitches in Zell am See to the team hotel in Kaprun. And Herrlich also provided a positive interim assessment: "We've worked very well so far – both in terms of fitness and tactics. We are much further on compared with last year and we want to show that soon.“
Heiko Herrlich gave his players (and his fellow coaches) the afternoon and evening off. While the head coach spent time in the spa area at the hotel, the Bavarian-Austrian tour group of Lars and Sven Bender, Kevin Volland, Julian Baumgartlinger and Rambo Özcan went on a trip the Alpine reservoirs in Kaprun. A group of coaches led by assistant coach Nico Schneck had a similar destination when went on mountain bikes to the nearby Lake Klamm.
In the afternoon, the new chairman of the board Fernando Carro and Meinolf Sprink (community/fan director) met the travelling fans on the terrace at the team hotel. The 50 loyal supporters of the Werkself were invited to coffee and cold drinks and, after the welcome address, they were able to put their questions to the 54-year-old club boss. Carro promised, amongst other things, to do all he can to bring success to Leverkusen this season. Rudi Völler joined in later on to back up the words of his fellow managing director.
For Carro's predecessor, Michael Schade, it was a case of saying goodbye again. The former CEO arrived at the team hotel on Thursday. On Friday, the partners presented him with a gift hamper at the sponsors event in Zell am See and later had a private dinner with the Bayer 04 directors and club management.
After dinner there was suddenly a lively atmosphere amongst the Werkself around eight o'clock. A lot of the players wanted to watch the opening game of the second division campaign between Hamburg SV and Holstein Kiel. Benny Henrichs, Jonathan Tah and Karim Bellarabi enjoyed exciting challenges on the Playstation. Talking of which: The Werkself are back on the training ground on Saturday. There are two sessions at 9.15 and 17.30, which are the last two at the Alois Latini Stadium in Zell am See before Sunday's departure from Kaprun and the friendly in Grödig against Al-Wahda Mecca (15.30 CET).
Using the hashtag #B04inAustria, fans have round the clock access to news about the #Werkself and #Bayer04. On top of that, there are exclusive stories from the heart of the team on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat every day.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-1 at TSG Hoffenheim on the 3rd matchday of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga 2026/27.
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Starting with the 2026/27 season, Bayer 04 has created a permanent memorial space at the BayArena. In the upper section of Block A in the southeast corner of the stadium, Werkself fans can honour friends and family members with whom they have shared many special moments connected to Bayer 04. In the coming months, this space will be gradually expanded, in particular with the active support of the fans.
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Bayer 04 has secured a new premium partner in DXC Technology, a leading provider of enterprise technology and innovation. The club has agreed a partnership with DXC running until 30 June 2028. At the heart of the partnership is DXC’s role as an AI integration partner. The company is integrating Bayer 04’s previously separate digital systems into a unified fan journey that begins long before matchday and extends well beyond the stadium visit. As a partner of the women’s team and main sponsor of #B04eSports, DXC will be supporting two promising sections of the club during this period. DXC will also gain significant visibility as the sleeve partner of the women’s team in the DFB Pokal.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have secured a new premium partner in the form of DRIVIO. DRIVIO, already part of the club’s partner portfolio as a reliable car subscription partner for Bayer 04, will continue to support the club in this capacity and, with immediate effect, also join the premium group of companies that cooperate closely with the Werkself. The premium and car subscription partnership between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and DRIVIO will initially run until 30 June 2027.
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“Welcome home” was the message from a visually emotional fan in the direction of Moussa Diaby after Wednesday’s open training session. The French winger had just appeared on the BayArena training ground for the first time in three years following his return to Bayer 04. And before he took time for selfies and autographs, Diaby spoke to the media. Fellow new arrival Guéla Doué was also in action but not with the team for now.
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