That was on the agenda after the strenuous training sessions of the past week and Lehnhoff joined in briefly. For many older fans it was a nice reminder of the 90s when Lehnhoff was one of the most feared wingers in the Bundesliga.
Hard work in the morning
In addition to the football tennis tournament the current Werkself generation had a relaxed athletic session under assistant coach Oliver Bartlett. The recovery session clearly did the players good with something for everyone in the recent sessions including rugby training on Monday. “It’s good to have a day where it’s not so hectic,” admitted Kevin Kampl. Roger Schmidt and his fellow coaches gave the players the afternoon off on day six in Austria.
All change in the afternoon
After lunch, a group went paddling in Lake Zell right next to the training ground and another played frisbee golf. Several players like Kampl just wanted to explore and enjoy the beautiful landscape while Ömer Toprak joined new signing Rambo Öczan to the golf course near to the team hotel Tauern Spa in Zell am See-Kaprun. Öczan filmed a rather less serious attempt by his team-mate to hit the ball and posted it on Instagram much to the amusement of the former Leverkusen players and talented amateur golfers Sebastian Boenisch and Gonzalo Castro. Toprak took it in good part and responded with laughing emojis.
Schade welcomes fans
At the same time Michael Schade entertained the travelling Werkself fans at the team hotel. The Bayer 04 CEO invited some 50 supporters to coffee, cake and cold drinks and they listened intently to the short welcome address from the 63-year-old. Schade provided a review of last term’s successful campaign and also looked forward: “We are all kean to start the new season and that’s not far off. I would be happy to have a busy fixture list from now to May as we are once again focussing on the cup competitions: We want to get to Berlin again and reach the last sixteen in the Champions League once more.” The fans were happy to hear those words and they also spoke to the currently injured Stefan Kießling (hip) afterwards. Bayer 04 then invited all sponsors and members of the media to the traditional evening meal.
Four players leave
Four players left the training camp early on Tuesday evening: The 17-year-olds Atakan Akkaynak, Kai Havertz, Sam Schreck and keeper Tomasz Kucz left three days earlier than their senior team-mates as planned as they need to return to Leverkusen to work with the new U19 squad. Everybody agreed the four youngsters made a good impression in Austria.
Two coaches visit
The Werkself were cheered on by the kids attending the Bayer 04 soccer school on Tuesday. The football camp has been held in Zell am See every year and always attracts loads of children from the surrounding area. It is no surprise they are keen to get the autographs of Chicharito and Co. and particularly Julian Baumgartlinger, Kevin Kampl and André Ramalho who are well known and popular in SalzburgerLand. The training sessions was also observed by two renowned German coaches from the stand: Ralf Loose (Dynamo Dresden and Preußen Münster) plus Frank Kramer (Fortuna Düsseldorf, Greuther Fürth and TSG Hoffenheim)i.
#B04inAustria – Everything at the click of a button
Brian the Lion was out and about on Tuesday. The mascot used the afternoon off to join Stefan Kießling and Rudi Völler in the Bayer 04 cable car to explore the Areitalm. Panoramic photos can be seen using the hashtag #B04inAustria on Twitter. You can also discover a wealth of other information there on the #Werkself and #Bayer04. Other stories, photos and videos can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Just log on.
The Bayer 04 women’s team secured a win in the friendly during the international break. Without a total of eight international players, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team defeated Bundesliga 2 side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 at the Kurtekotten Training Centre, thanks to goals from Lobke Loonen (1’, penalty), Caroline Kehrer (41') and Valentina Mädl (66').
Show more
Bayer 04 will have to manage without striker Christian Kofane in the coming weeks. The 20-year-old sustained a muscle injury to his left thigh on international duty with the Cameroon national team during the recent international break. This will prevent him from playing in the upcoming Werkself matches.
Show more
FSV Mainz 05 went into the international break on the back of an away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Currently sixth in the table, the Rheinhessen side – who have been impressive on the road – now aim to continue their good start to the Bundesliga campaign at home when they face the Werkself on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). In terms of squad selection, Urs Fischer once again has more options at his disposal. Up front, the Mainz coach is likely to continue relying on what is currently the league’s most successful strike partnership. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
Show more
Fans ask, Carolin Simon answers: As part of Bayer 04’s second Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, the Leverkusen captain took questions from the community. The full-back, who returned to the club this summer after ten years away, set aside an hour and a half for the Q&A session with fans, offering a very personal insight into, amongst other things, her daily life as a footballer and her role as captain, as well as her passion for Pokémon.
Show more
