
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.


You have voted – your ‘Team of the Quarter-Century’ has been decided! This historic selection, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, features honorary captains, Bundesliga champions, double winners and Champions League finalists. Edmond Tapsoba is the only player from the current Bayer 04 squad to make it into the starting XI, while his team-mate Patrik Schick is on the bench. Simon Rolfes, the current managing director sport, is also in the lie-up. A truly special team that brings together a quarter of a century of Bayer 04 history – and has left a decisive mark on the club.
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Following Patrik Schick, Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Kerim Alajbegovic earlier this week, the next World Cup participant is back on the training ground in Leverkusen: On Thursday 30 July, Malik Tillman rejoined the squad, completing his first training session under head coach Carles Martínez.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of the 4-0 victory in the friendly match against KRC Genk...
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In their third friendly of this pre-season, Bayer 04 played on home soil for the first time – and won there too! The Werkself claimed a comfortable 4-0 victory against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. Jeanuel Belocian (9’) and Nathan Tella (42’) gave a dominant Leverkusen a 2-0 lead at the break, which Afonso Moreira (51’) and Christian Kofane (53’) doubled after the break. Among the many second-half substitutions was Patrik Schick, who made his first friendly appearance of the summer.
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The Werkself are finally back. On Saturday 8 August, Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign with their opening match. But there’s far more than just a double-header in store for Werkself supporters. True to the motto ‘One day. Two teams. One club’, the BayArena and the Ulrich Haberland Stadium will be transformed into a world of excitement.
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