Peter Bosz welcomed his players back to the training ground on Monday afternoon and he was able to gain first impressions of the fitness of his team. After another intensive session on Tuesday, the performance tests on Thursday and a final training session on Friday, the week will be rounded off with the friendly against the Regional League side. For the Werkself, a number of players, who have not played much recently, plus one or two youth players may get the chance to show what they can do. The head coach is currently missing the international players who were given extended leave due to their time away on international duty. Kai Havertz, Lukas Hradecky, Tin Jedvaj, Julian Baumgartlinger, Aleksandar Dragovic, Jonathan Tah, Charles Aránguiz and Leon Bailey will all rejoin the squad at the training camp (15 to 21 July in Zell am See–Kaprun).
Tickets are still available via the Wuppertaler SV website for this weekend’s friendly at the Stadion am Zoo (Hubertusallee 4, 42117 Wuppertal).
Our opponents:
Last season, Wuppertaler SV finished eleventh in the Regional League West – the fourth tier of German football. The club is 30 kilometres away from Leverkusen as the crow flies and the two sides faced each other last summer with the Werkself running out comfortable winners with a 2-0 victory. The 25 competitive encounters (Oberliga, Regional League, second division) are a good while ago: Between 1962 and 1979 the Werkself won nine of the meetings (seven draws). The biggest success for the Wuppertal side is even further back: WSV were promoted to the Bundesliga in 1972 and a year later competed in the UEFA Cup. The undisputed low point followed in 2013 with the application for bankruptcy and the associated relegation to the fourth division where Wuppertal have been again since the 2016/17 season.
The Golden Boy Top 100 traditionally lists Europe’s most promising young players. In the latest update, published to mark the start of the new season, four current Werkself players – alongside loanee Francis Onyeka – feature on the list. This means Bayer 04 have the most players in contention of any Bundesliga club.
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Goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe will continue to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen next season. The loan of the Germany U23 international, who joined from Liverpool in the winter, has been extended by a further year.
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The Bayer 04 delegation, led by Fernando Carro, CEO, concluded their multi-day trip to Brazil with a visit to the community-based organisation Bola Pra Frente in Rio de Janeiro – founded by former Werkself player Jorginho. During the visit, Bayer 04 committed to extending support for the Bola Pra Frente project for a further five years. In addition, Jorginho, a member of the Brazil 1994 World Cup-winning squad, was named Bayer 04’s second official club legend. With the visit to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the club has strengthened the relationships built up over the years in one of Bayer 04’s most important international markets.
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Ten years after retiring as a player, Kristina Sundov is returning to the Bayer 04 Women’s team as assistant coach. The 39-year-old former Croatia international takes over from Remzi Kahraman, who has taken up a new challenge abroad. She has been given a contract to 30 June 2028.
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The training pitches at the BayArena are already buzzing with activity again, even before training officially begins next week. On Monday morning, a small group from the Werkself first-team squad completed a session lasting around an hour. Both new and familiar faces were present.
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