
As a farewell gift, Matthias Puchler, the legendary groundsman at the Alois Latini Stadium in Zell am See-Kaprun, presented Roger Schmidt and his players with pure quartz his grandfather found in the Alps. The Werkself were clearly moved by this generous act and showed their appreciation for ‘Matze’ with a tremendous round of applause.
Schmidt responds
It was an emotional farewell after a very busy week. Twelve strenuous sessions were completed, with two other activities away from the pitch that also stretched the Werkself. Schmidt declared his satisfaction with the tour in a final interview on Bayer 04 TV: “I see more and more players taking responsibility.”
Two days off
The Werkself finally returned to the Rhineland on Friday afternoon. The flight from Salzburg landed at Köln/Bonn airport and after a tough training session Roger Schmidt gave his squad the weekend off. The next training session at the BayArena is at 10.00 CET on Monday morning.
#B04inAustria – Review of training camp
Everything that happened in Austria last week relating to #Bayer04 and #Werkself is available to watch or read again >> here <<. Round the clock reports from the training camp are accessible via the hashtag #B04inAustria.


Bayer 04 Leverkusen have loaned U19 midfielder Jeremiah Mensah to Dutch second-tier side Roda JC Kerkrade for one year. The 18-year-old Germany youth international has a long-term contract at the club to 2031.
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Bayer 04 kick off the final phase of their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with a friendly against Premier League club Nottingham Forest. Head coach Carles Martínez’s team will take to the pitch at the City Ground today, Wednesday 12 August (kick-off: 8.45 pm/7.45 pm local time). Werkself-TV will broadcast the match live and in full exclusively for Bayer 04 members via livestream from 8.35 pm...

Villa Fiorito, River Plate, Ligue 1, the World Cup final and now Bayer 04: Facundo Medina’s life story so far has been shaped by special places, clubs, matches and names. One of them is Diego Maradona, who, like Medina, hailed from the south of Buenos Aires. Another is Exequiel Palacios, his former team-mate at River Plate, who was raving about Bayer 04 to him as recently as the World Cup in North America. Medina has now taken the plunge into the Bundesliga and, as an Argentine World Cup runner-up, has joined Bayer 04 from Olympique de Marseille this week. It is set to be the next successful chapter in his career. Leverkusen’s new number 2 brings with him a South American mentality and passion, a wealth of experience from many years in Ligue 1, and a fascinating story to the Rhineland – and to a club where the 1.84-metre-tall left-footed player will be reunited with Palacios and several other familiar faces.
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Shortly after signing his contract with Bayer 04, new signing Facundo Medina spoke to Werkself.tv about his first impressions of the club, his expectations and his conversations with his Argentine compatriot Exequiel Palacios. The defender also reveals what the fans can look forward to. Welcome to Leverkusen, Facu!
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Welcome back! On Tuesday morning, 11 August, Jarell Quansah and Exequiel Palacios – the last of the Werkself’s World Cup participants – returned to training. The two medallists and their team-mates are set to play their final two pre-season friendlies in England this week before the start of competitive fixtures.
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