
The strike partner feels empathy all the time – for a good reason: “Kieß isn’t just anybody, he’s a legend! It’s really hard to describe how important he is for us and the club. We all hope he’ll soon be fit again.”
Chicharito is in good shape again. The misery after the embarrassing 7-0 defeat for Mexico against Chile in the quarter-final of the Copa America is long gone and the 28-year-old is now totally focussed on his job at Bayer 04. “We’ve got a really good group,” he said before adding: “Our hunger for success is growing ever larger.”
Good for Chicha is not good enough
Last season could hardly have gone any better for the clinical Mexican. 17 goals in the league was a record in his career to date and the Werkself sealed third place by some distance. However, the early exit from the Champions League annoyed Chicharito. “One more goal against Barca and we would have gone through to the Round of 16.” No surprise that reaching the last sixteen of Europe’s premier club competition is high on his agenda for next term.
And what else? “I never set myself personal targets like a set number of goals,” he said but continued: “I still want to improve. That includes our position in the league. For example, Leicester proved to the world anything is possible in football.” It is clear to everybody at Bayer 04 that there is a long way to go to reach that goal. But the ambition to fight it out at the top is alive more than ever with the Werkself these days.


The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day three (Tuesday 4 August) begins with a thorough open session on the pitch. After lunch, some players have media engagements at the team hotel, and then the team come together for a barbecue in the evening.
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Nine matches against teams from nine countries, two penalty shoot-outs won, and encounters that went far beyond football: As with last year, the Inklusionswerkself enjoyed an extraordinary week at the Genuine Cup 2026 in Houston, USA, and made memories that will last a lifetime. This year, the Leverkusen side took part as Germany’s official representatives and, accordingly, took to the pitch in Germany kit. Together with 53 teams from 53 nations, the Black and Reds once again sent a powerful message of inclusion and participation – and also impressed on the pitch by winning their group.
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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. The programme for day two (Monday, 3 August) centres on two training sessions – one in the morning (open to the public) and one in the early evening (behind closed doors) – at the nearby training grounds. In the afternoon, fans can look forward to a big fan meet-up with club legend Paulo Sergio at Schloss Blankenhain.
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“Say hello to the Werkself!” – With this request, Loïc Bade gathers everybody in front of his GoPro: Including team-mates like Ibrahim Maza, Lucas Vázquez, Aleix Garcia and Ernest Poku, or Bayer 04 CEO Fernando Carro, head coach Carles Martínez, or even the reception team at the Spa & GolfResort Weimarer Land. In between, there are glimpses of the pool area and the Werkself’s team quarters. Enjoy!
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