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.
Kicking off the new season with a fresh look: Bayer 04, in collaboration with sportswear manufacturer New Balance, has unveiled the official kit for Leverkusen’s e-Sports players for the coming season. The jersey is now available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.
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Paulo Sergio and Bayer 04 have enjoyed close ties since the Werkself training camp in his native Brazil last summer. The club legend is in charge of the Bayer 04 Soccer Academy, which opened in the summer of 2025, and he has also been at this year’s training camp in the Weimarer Land. As well as interacting with the many fans who travelled to the camp, the 1994 World Cup winner used the time to plan the next steps for the Academy together with club officials. In an interview with bayer04.de, Sergio spoke about the project’s future development, the upcoming visit by young Academy players to Leverkusen, and plans for the coming months in Germany and Brazil.
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A round-up of 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. Day five (Thursday 6 August) is as follows: The squad have the final open session of the training camp in the morning. After lunch, there will be a team event.
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A round-up of 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. Day four (Wednesday 5 August) is all about training. The day begins with a gruelling open training session – new signing Miguel Gutiérrez also takes part. A second session follows in the afternoon, this time behind closed doors.
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At the training camp in the Weimarer Land region, Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez and his long-standing assistant Pol García talk about their first few weeks with the Werkself, their expectations of their own work, the coaching staff and the squad, as well as the style of football they want the team to play. They emphasise the importance of a winning mentality within the team, comment on cultural and personal differences in the world of football, and outline their goals for the coming season...
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