Set pieces were the focus of the last session in Saalfelden. Head coach Xabi Alonso also put in a few free kicks and crosses into the penalty area. That was followed by a range of passing drills and moves as well as work on maintaining possession. Then came the end of the first training camp for Bayer 04 in Saalfelden.
Head coach Xabi Alonso shared his assessment of the training camp after the session: "We achieved most things we set out to do this week. We've trained a lot here and next week will be different with three games one after the other.”
The Spaniard and his team are travelling on to San Sebastian for a friendly in a good cause (see below) away to Spanish Champions League side Real Sociedad to be played tomorrow Saturday. For Alonso it is a return to his hometown. The Bayer 04 head coach was emotional ahead of his return: "A year ago I was working there as a coach. I have a very close connection to the city, my hometown and to the club where I had a season ticket since I was six years old. I will meet up with a lot of people again and lots of players who I trained last year. I'm really looking forward to it."
Alonso said the following about the opponents Real Sociedad: "They are a really strong team. They didn't qualify for the Champions League last season for no reason and they also won the Spanish Cup in 2020. But, of course, we want to produce a good performance and we also want to win."
The following players are in the squad for the friendly against Real Sociedad: Lukas Hradecky, Jonathan Tah, Odilon Kossounou, Jonas Hofmann, Nadiem Amiri, Edmond Tapsoba, Arthur, Noah Mbamba, Alejandro Grimaldo, Amine Adli, Victor Boniface, Adam Hlozek, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Exequiel Palacios, Florian Wirtz, Patrick Pentz, Jeremie Frimpong, Gustavo Puerta, Granit Xhaka, Niklas Lomb and Ayman Aourir. The following youth team players Jesper Schlich, Madi Monamay and Matija Marsenic are also with the group. And U19 defender U19 Reno Münz is joining the squad from Leverkusen.
Robert Andrich, Patrik Schick and Kerem Demirbay (due to a slight knock) plus youth players Oleksandr Petrenko and Anton Bäuerle are heading back to Germany. Sardar Azmoun left the training camp at the start of the week due to a muscle injury in his left calf.
The charity match at Real Sociedad kicks off at 18.00 CEST tomorrow Saturday at the Reale Arena in San Sebastian. The match is being played in aid of the Fundación Columbus. Their mission is to raise funds for research into rare diseases and find treatments for these diseases through gene therapy. For head coach Xabi Alonso the journey to San Sebastian is also return to his hometown.
Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
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Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
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High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
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