Lukas, this year you are preparing for the new season in Saalfelden for the first time. What's your first impressions of the new location?
Hradecky: The panorama with the steep mountainsides is obviously impressive. It does us good to have a change of scenery – even though we liked the other accommodation just as much. A big advantage here is the short distance between the hotel and the training ground and the hotel itself is outstanding. We’ll be able to work very well here over the next few days. We are looking forward to the week ahead and close cooperation with the whole team.
It is also the first training camp under Xabi Alonso. Has he given you a slight insight into what's coming up in the next few days and what the main focus will be?
Hradecky: There are lots of sessions on the agenda as well as events with the whole squad away from the pitch. That's important too. The atmosphere between the players, coaches and staff plays a big role if you want to be successful. That will develop even more here.
The signings of Granit Xhaka and Jonas Hofmann have led to great euphoria and anticipation amongst the fans looking forward to the coming season. Do you feel that positive mood as a team as well?
Hradecky: The atmosphere in the team is brilliant. The new lads have integrated well straightaway. They speak German, have loads of experience and bring absolutely the right qualities with them. Therefore, I'm certain that they will fit in brilliantly and contribute their qualities. I'm also very happy for our fans. What they and everybody in general in Leverkusen contributed last season, above all in Europe, was fantastic. Now I'm starting my sixth year at the club and I don't think we've had as many fans and children at the pitch at the start of preseason as we have this summer.
Patrick Schick and Robert Andrich have also travelled and are continuing their programs. How important mentally are days like this in and around the team?
Hradecky: Above all for the two of them it's good to see something else other than the weights room. The environment and the air here are great. That helps everybody including the team and the injured players. It's always better to work together than alone. It was definitely the right decision to take everybody.
For you it is, as previously mentioned, the sixth preseason with Bayer 04 and the ninth as a Bundesliga player. What are you aiming for in the coming season?
Hradecky: We all just want to start the season better than we did last year and are determined to produce a performance and winning culture that will dominate the whole season. Of course, the new players will obviously help. The signings have done us a load of good and we've hit the nail on the head. The dressing room is more settled. For everything to work out we need a good preseason and a good training camp. I definitely have a very good feeling for the coming weeks and months and I am in an absolute positive frame of mind!
A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
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On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are bringing back Kerim Alajbegovic, who joined Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2025. The Bundesliga club activated the buy-back option in the contract with the Bosnia international, who has enjoyed great success at the Austrian top-flight club since the start of the current season. Alajbegovic moved to Salzburg from the Leverkusen U19s last year. The 1.86-metre forward has signed a five-year contract at Leverkusen with a start date of 1 July 2026.
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Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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