
Our ‘golden boy’ is back! Four days after the win for Brazil in the Olympic final played in Yokohama, Paulinho was already back on the training ground at the BayArena. Ahead of the warm-up, he was congratulated on this very special title with a round of applause from his teammates. Visibly in a good mood and fall of zest for action, the 21-year-old winger completed his first session under the new Werkself head coach Gerardo Seoane.






Left-back Mitchel Bakker also returned to training on Tuesday. Following his thigh injury and individual sessions in the past few days, the new signing from Paris Saint-Germain took part in all the drills in the one-hour morning session.
The first training session of the day was followed in the afternoon by the monthly internal Media Day where the Werkself players run through various social media formats and small photo shoots. This time returnee Paulinho took a special role; the Olympic champion was photographed at the BayArena with his gold medal. In addition, new signing Odilon Kossounou faced the popular social media Q&A 'Black or Red?'..
As with the players in the second division two weeks ago, the players in Germany's top flight will also start the new season by supporting the DFL #ÄrmelHoch (sleeves up) campaign. The plan is for players to run onto the pitch with their teammates with their right sleeves rolled up. The idea is for the Bundesliga clubs to raise awareness of the significance of vaccinations in the battle against coronavirus.
The Werkself are away to FC Union Berlin at the start of the new season on Saturday, 14 August. The match at the Alte Försterei Stadium kicks off at 15.30 CEST.
Numerous greats of German football more come together at the Mosel STADIUM in Trier on Wednesday night to support the victims of the flooding disaster in the region. Under the motto 'Help after the flood: The benefit match of German football' the event will involve DFB All Stars, the Rhineland Palatinate Lotto team and the national team of mayors playing each other.
Former Werkself players involved with the teams are Jens Nowotny, Philipp Wollscheid, Lukas Sinkiewicz and Thomas Zdebel. SPORT1 will broadcast the game live from 20.30 CEST with the three matches lasting 35 minutes each.
Tickets for the match are available for €5, €10 and €15 from Ticket Regional. Tickets can be bought online from all the usual booking offices or via the hotline on 0651 9790 777. Donations can be made by the donation platform betterplace.org.

After eight years in the youth set-up at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Benjamin Adam is leaving the club. The 35-year-old, who most recently coached the Leverkusen U17s, will take charge of the Hansa Rostock U19 team next season.
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There was a successful end to the women's internationals with Werkself players Carlotta Wamser and Cornelia Kramer qualifying for the 2027 World Cup finals in Brazil. A third Leverkusen player is still in with a chance of joining them. The Germany U23 players also experienced success in their last two international friendlies of the season.
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Traveling to North America for the World Cup this summer to see your favorite Bayer 04 players? Here’s a quick cheat sheet with thumbnail portraits and insider tips for each city from a local expert, so you can make the most of your visit and activities beyond the game!
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A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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