Lukas Hradecky and Co. spent around 90 minutes mainly on moves in tight spaces and they finished with work on set pieces. Midfield dynamo Robert Andrich trained on his own on Tuesday due to a knock in the match against Hertha Berlin (2-1) but the 27 year-old today completed all the drills with the squad. Absent from the pitch were Karim Bellarabi, who completed an individual session, as well as Sardar Azmoun who is sidelined with a cold.
It's time again for another edition of the YouTube format 'Nachgefragt' quiz. The subject under discussion: Which superpower would you like to have? The answers from Charles Aránguiz, Jonathan Tah, Sardar Azmoun and Co. are HERE.
Bayer 04 today congratulates Robert Kovac on his 48th birthday. The Croat signed for Leverkusen from FC Nürnberg in the 1996/97 season. The central defender made a total of 162 appearances for the Black and Reds before moving on to FC Bayern in 2001. The former Werkself player was assistant coach to his brother Niko Kovac at Bayern Munich from 2018 to 2020. His last club was AS Monaco.
Michael Ortega is 31 today. The Colombian joined the Werkself on loan from Atlas Guadalajara for the 2011/12 season. The midfielder made his debut on 18 February 2012 in the 4-1 home win against FC Augsburg. At the end of the season, the former Colombia U20 international returned to his original club and the midfielder then spent a season on loan at the then second division club VfL Bochum. Ortega currently plays for the Colombian top-flight club Deportivo Cali.
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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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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The Germany U19 team were beaten 2-0 by record champions Spain in the final of the U19 European Championship in Wales. Bayer 04 players Montrell Culbreath and Francis Onyeka (on loan at SV 07 Elversberg) were in the starting line-up and played the full 90 minutes.
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