Xabi Alonso held his first session at the training camp this morning on the pitches in the immediate vicinity of the team hotel. It was straight down to work in front of a large number of Werkself fans. A warm-up routine including stabilisation and stamina drills was followed by a fast-paced and long practice match. The commands of the Spanish head coach could be heard across the whole ground. Alonso intervened again and again to make minor adjustments.
Jonathan Tah trained on his own on the neighbouring pitch after having received a knock in training in Leverkusen. And Kerem Demirbay missed out after being kicked on the right foot. The 30-year-old midfielder did watch his teammates in the morning session from the sidelines.
Sardar Azmoun had to drop out of the session. The Iran international suffered a muscle injury in his left calf. He will leave for Leverkusen on Tuesday morning to start rehab in the Werkstatt at the BayArena..
Following the morning session, Victor Boniface gave his first interview to Werkself TV as a Bayer 04 player at the training ground. The 22-year-old new signing from top Belgian club Royale Union Saint-Gilloise expressed his joy at the move to Leverkusen and declared that this step was a "dream come true" for him. The interview with the Nigerian striker is HERE.
The second session in the afternoon began with rondos followed by tactical work across the whole pitch. With Werner Wenning, chair of the Bayer 04 shareholders committee, plus the fans looking on, the end of training was followed by a fun penalty competition. That was the end of the session for the first team squad but there was further action on the pitch.
A small group including sporting managing director Simon Rolfes, head coach Xabi Alonso, assistant coaches Sebastian Parrilla and Alberto Encinas, goalkeeper coach David Thiel plus team liaison manager Hans-Peter Lehnhoff had a practice match in early evening – and they produced one or two impressive moves with Florian Wirtz, Granit Xhaka and Amine Adli watching from the touchline. The team with World Cup winner Alonso and former Germany international Rolfes came out on top. "Let's make a friendly result of it – 14-2 or the like," said Rolfes after with a smile. The team distribution probably wasn't balanced.,,
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There will be another two training sessions on Tuesday (10.30 and 16.30 CEST – subject to late changes) open to Bayer 04 fans. After the first session in the afternoon, sporting managing director Simon Rolfes will speak to the media on site with his statements reported later on bayer04.de.
Moreover: Looking forward to the coming season and the first two home games at the BayArena, season card holders and Bayer 04 Club members can secure match tickets for the home opener against RB Leipzig and the clash with SV Darmstadt (matchday three) from noon CEST on Tuesday 25 July. Open sale starts two days later on Thursday 28 July also at noon. The early booking phase ended today leaving a small number of tickets still available. Anybody not wanting to miss the opening match should secure their tickets as soon as possible.
A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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