Following on from goalkeeper Andrey Lunev, signed from Zenit St Petersburg, Mitchel Bakker also had his first training session with the Werkself. Head coach Gerardo Seoane held a two-hour session on Tuesday morning. 20 outfield players and four keepers were able to enjoy fast-paced drills with the ball. In an 11 v 11 match, new signing Bakker was able to go up and down the left flank. His fellow countrymen Daley Sinkgraven trained on his own.
The Werkself have their first friendly on Wednesday, 14 July. Bayer 04, wearing the brand-new home kit, entertain third division SV Wehen Wiesbaden at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre. The kick-off is at 18.00 CEST and Bayer 04 will show the match live on the club's YouTube channel, Sport1 is also broadcasting friendly.
Bakker’s first day at work in Leverkusen involved several duties. The German Football League (DFL) Media Day was on the agenda a few days before the training camp in Zell am See/Kaprun (16-23 July). The players completed several photo and video opportunities in the west wing of the BayArena and on the training pitch 1.
Leon Bailey was not involved in Media Day. The Werkself winger is currently playing for Jamaica in the USA at the Gold Cup, the North and Central American equivalent of the European Championship. In the opening match, the favourites with the Bayer Bayer 04 player in their starting line-up overcame Suriname – final score: 2-0. Bailey played until the closing stages of the game.
The successful Jamaican team are in action again overnight from Friday to Saturday. The kick-off is at 00.30 CEST in the game against opponents Guadalupe in Orlando where the Werkself held three winter training camps between 2015 and 2017.
His input: impressive. His goals: wonderful and enormously important. The Werkself centre-forward Patrik Schick scored five goals in five games for the Czech Republic in the European Championship – only Cristiano Ronaldo did better than that with one more assist. The 25-year-old and his teammates surprisingly reached the quarter-finals. However, that was the end of the road for the Czech Republic but their striker justifiably secured a place in the best team of the tournament.
The ARD Sportschau named the Bayer 04 player in their 'EURO top 11'. ran and Sky also included the Leverkusen player in their Euro 2020 teams. Congratulations on a great tournament, Patrik!
Following the launch of the home kit (click HERE for the shirt) large numbers of our new merchandise have landed in virtual or physical shopping baskets. In addition to the Black and Red striped shirts, you can also secure the brand-new goalkeeper shirt. Hradecky and Co. will play in grass green in the 2020/21 season. You can enjoy browsing or buying the new goalkeeper kit at the Bayer 04 fan shop, at www.jako.de and at the Bayer 04 shop in Leverkusen-Wiesdorf (Wiesdorfer Platz 9).
Jester, cheerful soul and now an experienced Bundesliga player: Danny da Costa joined the youth section at Bayer 04 in the summer of 2001 from Winfriedia Mülheim. Nine years later he was in the final of the U17 Bundesliga but just missed out on winning the title. December 2010 brought the first team debut for da Costa – the right-back played in the second half of the Europa League home game against Atlético Madrid (1-1). He made twelve further appearances for the Werkself before moving on to FC Ingolstadt 04. Da Costa has now been at Eintracht Frankfurt for four years and he was recently on loan to FSV Mainz 05 for six months. The Bayer 04 home-grown player celebrates his 28th birthday today (Tuesday). Many happy returns, Danny!
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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