
From eight in the morning the Werkstatt was the scene of the action. The roll call included new signings Kevin Volland and Sam Schreck plus returnees Levin Öztunali, Joel Pohjanpalo, Danny da Costa and Niklas Lomb.
For the new and old boys there was the usual array of checks including spiroergometry, stamina tests, sight and balance tests plus other orthopaedic and clinical examinations to establish the basis for the start of outdoor training on Tuesday at ten a.m.
Happy Öztunali
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” said a perspiring André Ramalho as he stepped off the treadmill at the Werkstatt. His group included Levin Öztunali who returns to the BayArena in determined mood after a loan spell at Werder Bremen. “I’m really happy to be back and I can hardly wait for the new season to kick off,” said the 20-year-old. His mate Julian Brandt was up later and Karim Bellarabi was also on time on Monday. Both were in the provisional Germany squad for Euro 2016 in France but failed to make the final cut.
Bernd Leno and Jonathan Tah were in France and started a well deserved break on Thursday after the semi-final exit. Along with the other Euros participants Hakan Calhanoglu, Admir Mehmedi, Tin Jedvaj, Julian Baumgartlinger and Ramazan Özcan plus Copa America participants Chicharito and Charles Aranguiz they will return to the Werkself over the coming weeks.
Tuesday: First public session
Following the performance tests head coach Roger Schmidt has organised the first training sessions for his players on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 10.00 and 16.00 CET each day. All the training sessions are open this week. There will be one session on Friday ahead of a friendly in the evening at 19.00 CET at SC Verl as part of the training camp in Marienfeld from 15 to 17 July.


The Werkself need a win in their penultimate match of the season at RB Leipzig on Monday evening (18:00 CEST) to keep their hopes of third place alive until the final day. After Eintracht Frankfurt lost on Saturday, Roberto Pätzold's side can close the gap on their rivals to two points and leave it all to play for next Sunday.
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-3 loss at VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 33 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
Show more
Down to fifth from fourth place despite taking an early lead: in the head-to-head for a Champions League spot, Bayer 04 were 1-0 up at VfB Stuttgart with just a minute played thanks to an Aleix Garcia strike, but ultimately lost 3-1 (2-1) to the more determined hosts. It meant the Swabians leapfrogged the Werkself in the Bundesliga table on the penultimate matchday.
Show more
Today sees Bayer 04 go head-to-head with their next direct rivals in the race for Champions League qualification (kick-off 15:30 CEST). Opponents Stuttgart are currently fifth in the table, level on points with the Werkself but one place below them due to a three-goal inferior goal difference. The Black and Reds' record at Bad Cannstatt tells a clearer story: they've not lost at VfB for over 16 years. One important factor in securing what would be three crucial points away from home is Leverkusen's strength on the counter-attack. Whilst Stuttgart are also extremely dangerous going forward, they will be without their captain. Today’s matchday news.
Show more