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.
Calling all Werkself fans: The new Farbenstadt range is available now from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt. This includes new T-shirts made of 100% organic cotton, zip-up hoodies and jogging bottoms in five different summer colours.
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Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen have completed the signing of French U18 international Axel Tape. The 17-year-old moves to the Bundesliga club on a long-term contract from Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain ahead of the 2025/26 season. Tape was crowned a French U19 champion with the PSG youth just last weekend.
Show moreFollowing the end of the season for Bayer 04, a lot of Werkself players are currently on the road with their national teams. The Leverkusen players are involved in the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League, qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and international friendlies. Read on for the latest news on international fixtures involving Werkself players.
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