
“Piero’s signing eighteen months ago was an investment in the future, back then he was a talented central defender with really big potential,” declared Bayer 04 sporting managing director Simon Rolfes. “He became a key performer for our Werkself a long time ago, he has shown his international quality in the Bundesliga, in the Champions League and recently at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Piero is one of the key elements in the team who we can count on to help us achieve ambitious targets in the next few years,” added Rolfes.
For the 6’1” central defender, who also regularly plays on the left side of the defence at Bayer 04, Leverkusen is “exactly the right club. I wasn’t promised too much here but I was given the time on the pitch at a high level as a young player that I wanted,” said Hincapie. “I’ve been able to settle in here and reinforce my place in the national team. It’s great motivation for me to continue to produce performances in coming years and aim for titles with Bayer 04.”

In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
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Rieden reloaded: Just like last year, the Bayer 04 Women’s team are spending their summer training camp in this idyllic corner of Bavaria. From this Sunday, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team will be based in Rieden in the Upper Palatinate for a week.
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Following the summer break, most of the players are back in Leverkusen. While two Bayer 04 first-team players are still in action at the World Cup, the players present officially kicked off the new season with fitness assessments. At the Werkstatt, the Bayer 04 rehabilitation and training centre, Robert Andrich, Edmond Tapsoba and the rest of the squad worked up quite a sweat in the sweltering summer heat. New signings Afonso Moreira and Kennet Eichhorn also successfully completed the day’s sessions alongside their new team-mates.
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The Werkself return tomorrow, Tuesday 14 July (from 11:00 CEST at the BayArena; live stream on bayer04.de, the Bayer 04 app and YouTube), with new head coach Carles Martínez leading his first training session as part of the Bayer 04 set-up. His coaching team comprises a mix of new and long-standing colleagues.
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