For the last time at this year's summer training camp, head coach Gerardo Seoane led two training sessions on one day. In the morning, the Swiss mainly focused on crosses, moves and finishing. Back with the group again: Youngster Emrehan Gedikli who was rested the day before as a control of his workload.
The 70-minute session was followed by the obligatory group photo with all the players, coaches and staff. They were joined on the photo by two representatives of the Zell am See-Kaprun holiday region, a long-standing partner of Bayer 04: Renate Ecker, CEO of Zell am See-Kaprun Tourismus GmbH, and Hannes Herr from SalzburgerLand Tourismus GmbH.
The second session in the afternoon was primarily spent on the neighbouring pitch at the Alois Latini Stadium. Jonathan Tah and Co. pulled on bibs and played across the whole pitch. The management plus players and coaches welcomed Werner Wenning to the second training session of the day. The chair of the Bayer 04 shareholders committee was there as a guest.
The training camp ends on Friday, 23 July with a friendly. The Werkself round off the training camp with a game against SC Freiburg in Wattens. The kick-off is at 14.00 CEST and the match will be broadcast live on the Bayer 04 YouTube channel.
After the second session, some of the Werkself players collected their towels for the first visit to Lake Zell at this year's training camp. The outfield players cooled down just a few metres away from the training ground. The goalkeeping quartet were ahead of the rest – Lukas Hradecky, Andrey Lunev, Lennart Grill and Niklas Lomb had already jumped into the lake in the morning.
While the majority of the Werkself squad are working hard in Austria, two Bayer 04 players are away in Japan. Nadiem Amiri (Germany) and Paulinho (Brazil) kick off the Olympic Games football tournament on Thursday. The opening match in Group D in Yokohama at 13.30 CEST brings a face-to-face meeting between the two Leverkusen players.
Amiri is really looking forward to the clash with his teammate: "Such a cracker in the first match – every player is up for that!" Paulinho and Co. are based in the Olympic village just one floor below the Germany squad. "You can notice with the news that there is a certain tension," said Amiri with a smile.
Two former Werkself players celebrate their birthdays today (Wednesday). Ömer Toprak, captain of Werder Bremen, is 32 years old. The Turk played under the Bayer Cross from 2011 to 2017. During his time at Bayer 04, Toprak took part in four summer training sessions in Zell am See-Kaprun.
Andriy Voronin, at Leverkusen from 2004 to 2007, turned 42 on Wednesday. The former centre-forward has worked alongside Sandro Schwarz as assistant coach at the top Russian club Dynamo Moscow since November of last year.
Midfielder Ruby Grant is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen and joining Portuguese runners-up Sporting CP a year before her contract expires. The 24-year-old has been at the Werkself since January 2025.
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Bayer 04 have loaned Brazilian full-back Arthur to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen for one year. Arthur Augusto de Matos Soares – the full name of the right-back – has a contract with Leverkusen until 30 June 2031. At Werder, the 23-year-old is expected to make an impact and help the long-established club further consolidate their position in the Bundesliga.
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Bayer 04 have loaned defender Jeanuel Belocian to Spanish top-flight side Racing Santander. The 21-year-old defender joins the team currently ninth in La Liga until the end of the current 2026/27 season. Belocian’s contract remains valid until 30 June 2029. Last season, the 1.86-metre-tall U21 international was loaned to VfL Wolfsburg for six months.
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He knows the dressing room, the pitch and the club. But, above all, he knows the feeling of playing for the Werkself at the BayArena: Moussa Diaby is back in Leverkusen after three years. The lightning-fast winger has signed a contract with Bayer 04 until 2031 and he will once again wear the number 19 jersey. The left-footed player previously played for the club from 2019 to 2023, having arrived in the Rhineland from his native France as a promising young talent and eventually leaving the club – having established himself as one of the Bundesliga’s best attackers – to join Aston Villa in the Premier League. Now he has returned to Bayer 04 from Al-Ittihad FC in Saudi Arabia.
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