
Following on from Patrik Schick and Charles Aránguiz, Exequiel Palacios is the third international player back in Leverkusen at the start of the second week of the preseason. The midfielder completed large parts of full training in the first session of the new season. Head coach Gerardo Seoane focused on a range of moves in restricted space.
After the joint warm-up routine, Schick worked one-to-one on his finishing with fitness coaches Schahriar Bigdeli and Daniel Jouvin.

This week, Robert Andrich and Co. will be on training pitch one daily from 10.30 CEST by the BayArena. All sessions are open to Black and Red fans. The Seoane team also have a second session in the stadium on Tuesday 5 July and Thursday 7 July.
Please note: Changes may be made at short notice, Bayer 04 will inform fans via the club media.
The Werkself play the first preseason friendly on Saturday 9 July. The match against third division MSV Duisburg is in Velbert at 15.30 CEST. The ticket office at the IMS Arena is open two hours before kick-off at 13.30 CEST.
The 4 x 100 metre relay team of German para-athletes set a new record on Friday 1 July at the home meeting for TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen at the Fritz Jacobi facility: First leg runner Phil Grolla, Johannes Floors, Markus Rehm and final leg runner Felix Streng completed the run in an incredible 40.52 seconds and are now the new world record holders.
The previous record time of 40.73 seconds was set by the USA at the 2013 World Cup in Lyon. "Of course, we hoped we could do that time. But it's simply fantastic that it really happened in the end," raved Rehm following the race.
A number of TSV athletes also produced personal bests at the home meeting. Congratulations and great respect for all the performances.

Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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