
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.


New signing Miguel Gutiérrez arrives in Leverkusen having won the Champions League, the Spanish league title and an Olympic gold medal. However, the 25-year-old Spaniard, signed from Napoli, is looking to the future – he wants to write the next chapter of success with the Werkself. Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the skilful, attack-minded left-back, who will wear the number 3 jersey.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day three (Tuesday 4 August) begins with a thorough open session on the pitch. After lunch, some players have media engagements at the team hotel, and then the team come together for a barbecue in the evening.
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Nine matches against teams from nine countries, two penalty shoot-outs won, and encounters that went far beyond football: As with last year, the Inklusionswerkself enjoyed an extraordinary week at the Genuine Cup 2026 in Houston, USA, and made memories that will last a lifetime. This year, the Leverkusen side took part as Germany’s official representatives and, accordingly, took to the pitch in Germany kit. Together with 53 teams from 53 nations, the Black and Reds once again sent a powerful message of inclusion and participation – and also impressed on the pitch by winning their group.
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The Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog, you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme for day two (Monday, 3 August) centres on two training sessions – one in the morning (open to the public) and one in the early evening (behind closed doors) – at the nearby training grounds. In the afternoon, fans can look forward to a big fan meet-up with club legend Paulo Sergio at Schloss Blankenhain.
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