At 5.30 in the morning, the three groundsmen at FC Zell am See started work on clearing water off the pitch at the Alois Latini Stadium. Equipped with shovels and wheelbarrows plus sand, the trio worked hard to ensure the Werkself had the best possible conditions for the two sessions planned for Monday.
Just in time for the first training session in the morning, not only was the pitch mostly in good condition but the cloud cover over Lake Zeller had also disappeared. Head coach Gerardo Seoane welcomed Karim Bellarabi back to the pitch for the first time since Friday. The winger has recently suffered with slight muscle problems.
Euro 2020 player Julian Baumgartlinger was back on the pitch with his teammates for the first time in the pre-season. After the Round of 16 exit against European champions Italy (2-1 a.e.t..) was given the opportunity to recover with a break – and he has returned now full of zest for action. The stalwart lead from the front in his first session in Zell am See.
Baumgartlinger plus Lucas Alario and Zidan Sertdemir completed most of the training session with the squad but the trio left out the final pat of the workout.
The morning session was followed by media interviews for seven players plus head coach Seoane and sporting director Simon Rolfes. In the outside area of the Tauern Spa, Lukas Hradecky and Co. answered questions from the journalists. Jonathan Tah was a guest of bayer04.de and his interview will be available to read tomorrow morning (Tuesday).
Goalkeeper Andrey Lunev, who joined the Werkself in the summer from Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg, spent his afternoon learning German. The 29-year-old was working on the days of the week in his hotel room. Following his language session, the Russian mastered ‘Black or Red’.
The afternoon brought the second workout for the Werkself at the Alois Latini Stadium. This time the focus was on fun – and there was fervent work with the head:
The team, coaches, staff and delegation rounded off day 04 in Austria with a barbecue at the team hotel before the players then headed for their rooms.
Trophies as a youth, appearances in the pro game and his first taste of international competition: new arrival Luca Erlein, who has been signed from TSG Hoffenheim and is set to go out on loan to Bundesliga 2 newcomers Energie Cottbus for the coming season, can already look back on some remarkable achievements and moments in his fledgling career. We take a closer look at the 19-year-old right-back, who can also fill other roles across the defensive line.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has a new coffee partner. The club has agreed a long-term partnership with the Bocholt-based roastery Imping, running to 30 June 2031. The exclusive partnership with the family-run business includes the installation of fully automatic coffee machines at the BayArena, as well as the right to supply and serve coffee products in the business areas during Werkself home games.
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Plenty going on both on and off the pitch: The Bayer 04 fan support team has organised a number of highlights for fans visiting the Werkself 2026/27 summer training camp in Blankenhain, in the Weimarer Land region. Registration for the events is now open. All the details at a glance.
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The Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women’s team and s2-Software are continuing their long-term partnership: The Werkself and the provider of pre-owned Microsoft licences have extended their contract by two years to 2028. This means s2-Software will remain the Bayer 04 sleeve sponsor for all matches in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga.
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BIOGENA is the new performance partner for the Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women’s team. Under a partnership initially set to run for three years, the club and the leading Austrian micronutrient company are pooling their expertise in the areas of health, fitness and top-level performance.
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