As usual, the pre-season starts with performance tests at the Werkstatt facility at the BayArena on Thursday and Friday, 5 and 6 July from 08.00 CET. While the tests are held behind closed doors, Werkself fans will have the chance to see their team on the training ground after the summer break. When the squad return to the training ground at 11.00 CET on Saturday 7 July, it will be the first run-out for new signings Lukas Hradecky, Mitchell Weiser and Thorsten Kirschbaum. The Brazilian Paulinho will join his team-mates on 15 July. The two players at World Cup, Tin Jedvaj, who is with Croatia for the quarter-final against Russia on Saturday, and Julian Brandt, on a well-deserved holiday after Germany's exit, will be at the training camp in Zell am See-Kaprun at the end of the month.
The Bayer 04 players will soon be back in the saddle after the return to work: Heiko Herrlich has organised a three-day 'training camp' on bikes for his players – definitely with one eye on focusing his group on the targets for the season ahead. The Werkself team start in Bad Bertrich and will complete the 200 kilometre ride back to Leverkusen in three stages: On Sunday 8 July from Bad Bertrich to Koblenz, on Monday from Koblenz to Bonn and finally, on Tuesday 10 July, the last leg from Bonn to the BayArena. That is followed by two days off on Wednesday and Thursday, 11 and 12 July, before an open training session back home at 16.00 CET on Friday 13 July.
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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